The Facts

California Attorney General Rob Bonta charged 21 people in an alleged $267 million hospice fraud scheme. Unlike the child care fraud allegations now in the news, hospice fraud is one area where California and Washington are publicly aligned. Sara DiNatale at The Chronicle reports that providers still worry a broader Sacramento-Washington feud could make coordination harder.

California Department of Health Care Services Director Michelle Baass said “Our safeguards worked as designed: we identified irregularities early, stopped further improper payments, and suspended the fraudulent providers."

The Context

This problem is not new. A 2022 state audit found California’s weak licensing and oversight created the conditions for large-scale hospice fraud and abuse. Lawmakers responded with SB 664, which blocked most new hospice licenses starting in 2022, and the Newsom administration says California has since revoked 280+ licenses.

The GrowSF Take

This alleged quarter-billion-dollar fraud against a program meant to care for people at the end of life is a huge tragedy. Hopefully the state can recover the stolen dollars.