1,500%increase in Los Angeles County hospice agencies in a decade
A 2022 California State Auditor report found Los Angeles County hospice agencies had grown 1,500% in a decade, with evidence that stolen medical identities were used to get some of the licenses.
The audit linked the explosive growth to large-scale Medicare billing fraud. California responded with a moratorium on new hospice licenses starting in 2022, still in effect, while the state's Attorney General has filed 119 hospice-related criminal cases since 2021.
Source: CalMatters. Read more: hospice fraud