Hospice fraud has been uncovered with nearly 1,800 providers working in the region
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Los Angeles is at the center of the latest revelations of hospice fraud rampant across the region. CBS News recently took a deep dive into fraud, revealing that several companies are showing red flags that are being ignored.
There are about 1,800 hospice providers in Los Angeles County, which is six times the national average when adjusted for the size of the elderly population, according to CBS News. By 2022, California’s state auditor raised the alarm as LA County saw a 1,500% increase in hospices since 2010.
In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., and state legislators on March 29, 2022, the California state auditor flagged that there has been a “rapid increase in the number of hospices without a clear correlation to the increased need.” Other flags included “overcrowding of hospice facilities,” “long waits” for patient services, “abnormally high rates” of live patients discharged from hospice care and agencies “potentially using stolen identities of medical staff.”
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There are approximately 1,800 licensed hospice providers in Los Angeles County, which is six times the national average. (Stock)
“These indications strongly suggest that a network or networks of individual perpetrators in Los Angeles County are making a large and systematic effort to defraud the Medicare and Medi-Cal hospice programs. Such fraud endangers the most vulnerable population of hospice patients,” the letter continued.
Of the nearly 1,800 hospices in LA County, CBS News found 742 were still operating despite raising numerous red flags for fraud. One densely packed hospice company shows nearly 500 operating within a 3-mile radius. CBS News found that along Van Nuys Boulevard there were 137 nursing homes, more than half of which showed signs of fraud as defined by California.
In what could be an extreme example, 89 companies were found to be registered in one building on Van Nuys Boulevard, 72 of which reportedly showed multiple signs of fraud. CBS News noted that federal records show that regulators visited multiple suites in the building between 2021 and 2025. Additionally, the news site’s analysis showed that nearly 40 companies shared key employees, something federal auditors consider a potential red flag for fraud.
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A room is shown in the extended care unit at Valley Health Hampshire Memorial Hospital on June 17, 2025 in Romney, WV. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“Although MAGA writers and idiots like Dr. Oz may have recently discovered hospice fraud, California has been cracking down on this space for years. In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning ALL new hospice licenses. That moratorium is still in place – to prevent bad actors from entering the system while the state’s statement reinforces Foxson’s Gardon statement. Digital News.
“Under the governor’s leadership, the state launched a multi-agency Hospice Fraud Task Force that includes CDPH, CalHHS, DHCS, DSS, and the California Department of Justice to make arrests, share intelligence, investigate fraud, and coordinate law enforcement,” Gardon said.
Gardon noted that more than 280 hospice licenses have been revoked in the past two years. In addition, a Newsom spokeswoman said 300 additional providers are being investigated for possible withdrawals. Gardon also said that “there are systematic measures to stop Medi-Cal payments, license revocations and prosecutions.”
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A man is talking to a doctor. (Stock)
When CBS News tried to reach 56 hospice offices whose state and federal data indicated they displayed five or more red flags for fraud, reporters found that many of the phone numbers had been disconnected or went straight to voicemail. In one incident, the callers are said to have sent text messages to a number that turned out not to be working.
“Hospice fraud is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and California is getting nothing,” CBS News correspondent Adam Yamaguchi said in a video posted on the outlet’s X page. Yamaguchi said that when he and his team visited these places that are said to keep terminally ill people, they found empty offices and a lot of mail.
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The report comes after major revelations about fraud in Minnesota, particularly in the Somali community. In Minnesota, the Feeding our Future COVID-19 aid scam cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and started a hearing on Capitol Hill.
Hospice fraud often involves stolen Medicare numbers used to register patients at the hospice. In one case highlighted by CBS News, a 69-year-old woman was denied access to physical therapy because Medicare records showed she died in a hospital.
