CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz says investigators are focusing on sham hospice enrollments and related billing in California.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Federal officials said Friday they are investigating alleged hospice and home health fraud in California, with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz and Justice Department leaders outlining a new push in Los Angeles County, where they say suspect providers have drained public programs.
Officials cast the inquiry as part of a wider federal effort to curb health care fraud that they say has intensified in Southern California. Oz said investigators are examining hospice agencies that enroll patients who are not terminally ill or who do not understand that signing hospice can limit access to curative treatment. The Justice Department said multiple agencies, including the FBI and the Health and Human Services inspector general, are coordinating in the region. California leaders pushed back, calling claims of widespread state tolerance for fraud political and noting recent state actions to recover misspent funds.
At a brief news conference in Los Angeles on Friday, Oz said the review zeroes in on home health and hospice providers that ballooned during the pandemic and after, particularly those using aggressive marketers and physician referrals to sign up patients who never sought end-of-life care. “The patients don’t realize they’re signing up for hospice,” Oz said, describing how enrollees can later find doctors unwilling to continue non-hospice care. He said Los Angeles County accounts for an unusually large share of national home health billing, calling the concentration a red flag. Federal officials did not announce arrests or name specific targets but said referrals and audits are underway.
Investigators described patterns that include shell hospice companies, falsified eligibility certifications, and payments to recruiters to obtain Medicare beneficiary numbers. They said “foreign influences,” including transnational criminal groups, have exploited gaps in oversight by creating networks of agencies that cycle patients and claims. Oz cited billions of dollars in recent California billings tied to home health and hospice and said auditors are comparing enrollment data, lengths of stay, and survivorship against clinical norms. A Justice Department official said active probes also touch Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office countered that the state has blocked more than $100 billion in fraud across programs since 2019 and is cooperating with federal partners on health care cases. Precise counts of suspected sham hospices under review were not released.
Southern California has been a focus of hospice oversight for years, with prior state and federal reviews finding clusters of agencies opening and closing rapidly, spikes in long hospice stays, and reports of patients enrolled without consent. Nationally, the Justice Department in 2025 announced hundreds of health care fraud charges in a sweep that included hospice and home health schemes, underscoring the scale of the problem. In Los Angeles, local prosecutors and regulators have previously targeted operators accused of kickbacks and false claims, while patient advocates have warned families to ask clear questions about hospice eligibility and the trade-offs of enrolling. Experts say fraud flourishes where oversight is fragmented and where billing outpaces on-the-ground care.
Federal officials said the current push blends criminal investigations with administrative tools. CMS has expanded data analytics to flag outliers, suspended some payments while reviewing claims, and moved to revoke billing privileges when agencies fail basic compliance checks. The Justice Department said prosecutors can bring health care fraud and conspiracy charges, as well as civil False Claims Act cases that allow treble damages. Officials declined to set a timeline but said additional actions could include search warrants, grand jury subpoenas, or coordinated takedowns. Court filings, if any, would post in the Central District of California; briefings are expected as significant steps occur.
Outside the downtown federal building, a handful of caregivers and family members described confusion around hospice sign-ups. “My dad thought he was getting more home help, not end-of-life care,” said Maria Alvarez of El Monte, who said her father later struggled to see his longtime cardiologist. A home health nurse from Glendale said she has seen orders “that don’t match the patient’s condition” routed through new agencies that “seem to exist only on paper.” Federal officials urged anyone with information to contact investigators but emphasized that most hospice and home health providers follow the rules and deliver needed care.
As of late Friday, no arrests or charges had been announced in Los Angeles tied to the new push. Federal officials said updates would come as audits conclude and, if warranted, cases are filed. They said the next milestone is a status briefing on enforcement priorities expected in the coming days.
Author note: Last updated January 10, 2026.