Van Nuys address linked to nearly 200 hospice agencies, lawmaker says

A Van Nuys building is listed as the registered address for 197 hospice agencies, according to a state lawmaker 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., 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.

In a statement to NBCLA, Newsom’s office said the governor “cracked down on hospice fraud years.”

“In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning ALL new hospice licenses,” the statement read. “That moratorium is still in place — blocking bad actors from entering the system while the state tightens oversight of existing providers.”

“Under the Governor’s leadership, the state launched a multi-agency Hospice Fraud Task Force bringing together CDPH, CalHHS, DHCS, DSS, and the California Department of Justice to make arrests, share intelligence, investigate fraud, and coordinate enforcement.”

The statement did not comment on Macedo’s findings at the Van Nuys building. NBCLA has also reached out to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for comment.

Macedo and several Republican lawmakers 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.