Maria Schiff
Maria Schiff directs Pew’s State Health Care Spending project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to help policymakers understand state expenditures related to health care and to manage these costs while maintaining or improving Americans’ health. As the lead on Pew’s portfolio of work on state health spending, Maria manages a team of researchers tracking health care expenditures by each state—both by program category and in total—analyzing factors driving costs up or down, and identifying strategies to achieve better health outcomes at an affordable cost.
Maria has held diverse roles across the health care field and in groundbreaking reform efforts. At the National Governors Association, she advised states on the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and conducted research in the areas of health workforce planning and professional scope of practice laws. As a health policy manager for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts she helped conceive and execute Governor Romney’s 2006 health care reform law. Following her government service, Maria directed a program for a nonprofit Medicaid managed care plan that enrolled previously uninsured Massachusetts residents.
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
