‘Large-Scale Fraud’ and Lax Oversight Plague California’s Hospice Industry, Audit Finds

March 30, 2022

(Los Angeles Times) – A rapid boom in the number of hospices and other factors strongly point to a large-scale organized effort to defraud federal end-of-life care programs in Los Angeles County, putting vulnerable dying patients at risk of harm, according to a long-awaited state audit released Tuesday. Auditors blamed lax oversight for the problems, noting that the California Department of Public Health became aware of possible fraud by some for-profit hospices seeking licenses yet still approved them, essentially enabling “hospice agency operators who are possibly fraudulent to continue functioning, placing patients at serious risk of not receiving appropriate care.” (Read More)