CBS Has Uncovered Even More California Hospice Fraud

CBS News is back with even more investigative reporting on California’s massive hospice fraud scandal. Independent journalist Nick Shirley got the ball rolling on this, exposing how multiple fake hospice agencies occupy run-down buildings in seedy neighborhoods, billing Medicare for millions.

The scandal is so big that even mainstream outlets can’t ignore it anymore. Fox News ran a report about it, and CBS News ran a story too, just last week. This morning, they dropped a second report about what’s happening in Los Angeles County.

CBS NEWS INVESTIGATION: A salon, a modeling agency, and 89 hospices? We visited a 3-story LA building being called "ground zero" for fraud. We went to look for ourselves. https://t.co/5zLs9ll0Qm

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 19, 2026

Here’s more:

Patient advocate Sheila Clark, who has worked to expose allegations of widespread Medicare fraud in the hospice industry, calls this building “ground zero” for the issue.

“This particular building I noticed, I’m like, ‘dang, how can there be that many licensed and certified hospices in this tiny little building?,'” Clark said.

The building is among the most extreme cases of what’s known as “clustering” to turn up in a sweeping CBS News investigation — a grouping of large numbers of hospice offices that state auditors consider a major red flag for potential fraud.

The Van Nuys address for Merabi Plaza appears dozens of times in state records for licensed hospice companies. Inside the building’s entry hall, a directory lists numerous  hospice agencies that line the long tiled hallways, although the building’s owner claims many are no longer there.

Clark said it makes “no sense” to find so many licensed and certified hospice company offices operating inside a single building. Auditors said the clustering of so many firms raised concerns because it suggests that “the number of agencies in these areas likely exceeds the number of patients who need services.”

Concerns about clustering appear in a 2022 California State Auditor’s report, which found that Los Angeles County had experienced a 1,500% increase in hospice companies countywide since 2010. That’s six times more hospice providers than the national average, relative to the county’s elderly population.

Read Full Article Here… | Townhall

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