Overview
- House Oversight Committee Republicans, which launched the inquiry Monday, sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a records request covering 2019 to the present with an April 6 deadline.
- The committee says California failed to stop schemes that overbill Medicare and exploit patients, citing a CMS estimate that Los Angeles County accounts for $3.5 billion in questionable hospice billing and 18% of U.S. hospice claims.
- A CBS News review found the typical hospice in Los Angeles County billed about $29,000 per patient versus a $13,200 national average, with more than 700 of roughly 1,800 providers triggering multiple state red flags.
- California officials point to a 2021 freeze on new hospice licenses that now runs through January 2027, a multi‑agency task force, more than 280 license revocations, and roughly 300 active provider investigations.
- A 2022 state audit reported a 1,500% surge in Los Angeles County hospice providers and at least $105 million in overbilling in one year, while HHS inspectors estimated $198.1 million in suspected hospice fraud nationwide in 2023.