On Wednesday, federal brokers suspended 447 hospices and 23 residence well being businesses within the Los Angeles space for defrauding Medicare of an estimated $600 million.

The California Hospice and Palliative Care Affiliation (CHAPCA), an advocacy group for hospice, palliative care and expert residence care suppliers, welcomed the slew of suspensions.

“In California, scammers are exploiting Medicare and Medi-Cal advantages by deceptively and illegally enrolling seniors in hospice and residential care packages they by no means consented to,” Sheila Clark, president and CEO of CHAPCA, mentioned in an announcement. “Each greenback stolen from hospice and expert residence care is a greenback of care not offered to Medicare sufferers who want it. These scams not solely have devastating penalties for seniors and their households, but additionally divert treasured sources from the reputable suppliers who ship high-quality care all through California and the nation.”

Clark then urged state and federal companions to guard hospice and residential care sufferers and employees from fraudulent scams.

Los Angeles County has turn into a poster youngster for residence well being and hospice Medicare fraud. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the U.S. Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers (CMS), has delved into fraud within the residence well being and hospice industries, visiting residence well being hotspots and posting a video demanding motion to root out residence well being fraud in California.

Lawmakers have additionally narrowed their focus to residence well being care fraud in California. In November, Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., submitted a letter to Oz calling on CMS to totally examine fraudulent billing practices in Los Angeles County to make sure that fraud in that space doesn’t disrupt nationwide residence well being care cost coverage.

The house well being neighborhood has responded to this centered consideration by supporting CMS’ efforts to enhance the integrity of the house well being program.

“From my perspective, there’s completely no room for fraud, waste and abuse within the residence,” Jennifer Sheets, the CEO of the Nationwide Alliance for Care at Dwelling (the Alliance), beforehand instructed Dwelling Well being Care Information. “We definitely help efforts to root out dangerous actors who threaten the integrity of our well being care system.”

Dwelling well being and hospice associations, together with the Alliance, have additionally specified that CMS should shield compliant suppliers. In March, the Alliance, LeadingAge, LeadingAge California, and the California Affiliation for Well being Providers at Dwelling (CAHSAH) wrote a letter to Oz specifying that the house well being care fraud disaster is the results of a subset of dangerous actors, and that CMS’s response to fraud should shield high-value suppliers.