Palliative care enhances the quality of life for patients, their families, and caregivers dealing with challenges associated with life-threatening diseases. It is a bedrock of the American healthcare system, as its structure is built on a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to provide relief of physical, psychological, and social suffering. There has been a steady growth in palliative care in the United States from 25% to 75% of hospitals with over 50 beds from 2000-2005. Despite this growth, there are still inequities seen with ethnic minorities and individuals with lower socioeconomic status systematically having the least palliative care infrastructure, while also receiving lower-quality palliative care even when services are available.