A Van Nuys building is listed as the registered address for 197 hospice agencies, according to a state legislator who said Wednesday the discovery raises questions about oversight of California’s hospice licensing system.
Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, said the agencies are registered at 14545 Friar St., near Victory Boulevard, where she said she visited the property after reviewing licensing records.
Macedo said the building appeared dilapidated and lacked basic accessibility features such as a wheelchair ramp and accessible parking.
The lawmaker said the situation highlights potential gaps in the state’s oversight of hospice providers under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
Newsom signed a law in 2021 banning all new hospice licenses and established a multi-agency Hospice Fraud Task Force “blocking bad actors from entering the system while the state tightens oversight of existing providers,” Marissa Saldivar, the assistant deputy director of communications for Newsom’s office, told City News Service in an email.
The licenses of more than 280 hospices were revoked in the past two years with 300 more providers under investigation for potential revocation, according to Saldivar. The task force has “coordinated action to suspend Medi-Cal payments, revoke licenses and pursue prosecutions,” Saldivar said.
Macedo and several other Republican legislators sent a letter Wednesday urging Newsom to adopt emergency regulations recommended by a 2022 state audit aimed at preventing fraud in hospice licensing.
According to the lawmakers, the audit found weak state controls that created opportunities for large-scale fraud and abuse in the hospice system.
The letter cited roughly 2,100 complaints filed between January 2015 and August 2021, including nearly 350 alleging fraud or abuse.
The audit also suggested organized networks in Los Angeles County may have been involved in efforts to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal hospice programs, according to the letter.
“It has been four years since the audit report; your administration has failed to protect families in the most difficult moment of their lives,” according to the letter.
“Most people have never had to choose hospice before; they do not know what questions to ask, what warning signs to look for, or who to trust. That is why state oversight matters, and right now the system is broken.”
The lawmakers said delays in adopting the regulations could harm vulnerable patients and their families while allowing fraudulent operators to continue exploiting the system.