How to protect yourself from hospice fraud

Republican-led concerns of alleged widespread Medicare fraud underscore the recent spate of hospice fraud cases in California. But what does hospice fraud entail and how can you protect yourself?

As CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra explains, there are numerous types of hospice fraud. It can be as simple as providers knowingly overbilling Medicare and Medi-Cal, or as elaborate as bad actors creating a fake hospice agency, stealing people’s medical information and billing them for services that were never provided.

Fraudsters can make robocalls or approach people in casual settings, offering unsuspecting victims gift cards or free health services in exchange for detailed personal and medical information. They can also steal Medicare identification numbers from the dark web and then sell them to hospices.

In July 2024, Medicare denied Lynn Ianni’s claim for her latest physical therapy session. Ianni — who testified last week at a congressional hearing on Medicare fraud — later learned that she was supposedly enrolled in an Arcadia hospice. This led to Medicare refusing to cover her care despite the fact that she paid her premiums.

• Ianni: “It was over six months that I had no coverage or no services. I was really terrified because I couldn’t figure out how to solve it, and I had no resolution in sight.”

Since 2021, the California Justice Department has filed 119 hospice-related criminal cases, and earlier this month the department said it charged 21 suspects who allegedly defrauded the state of $267 million in a hospice fraud ring.

To avoid being scammed:

• Medicare Care Compare provides quality scores and a phone directory for legitimate hospice providers. 
• Safeguard personal information including your Medicare ID number and Social Security number.
• Doublecheck Medicare summary notices and explanation of benefits to ensure accuracy.
• If you think you’re a victim of fraud, call the state’s Senior Medicare Patrol line, a federally-funded helpline that can help you disenroll from services you did not request.

Read more.

For the record: Tuesday’s newsletter incorrectly identified with whom California authorities plan to share driver’s license information. They plan to share it with a national nonprofit.

In the election to choose California’s next secretary of state, voters will decide between Democratic incumbent Shirley Weber and Republican Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner, writes CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu.

During her time as the state’s top vote-counter, Weber has faced criticism over California’s slow ballot-counting process. In response, Weber told CalMatters that, “Accuracy is far more important.”

Weber has defended California election laws in court several times, most recently fighting a lawsuit by the Trump administration seeking the state’s voter registration data. If reelected, Weber said she would continue to help expand voter outreach and encourage voter registration.

Weber’s challenger, Wagner, said he wants to roll back California’s practice of sending mail-in ballots to every voter. If elected, he would support legislation to move up the deadline to certify election results. Wagner is also a proponent of voter ID — a proposal that recently qualified to be on the November ballot.

Read more.

Contending with rising costs, tariffs and a war that is driving up fuel prices, some California small business owners are questioning how long they can afford to stay in business, reports CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay.

Small businesses — which employ fewer than 500 employees — create millions of new jobs a year for the state, and have been responsible in recent years for 99% of net new jobs. But for entrepreneurs such as Nichole MacDonald, who owns a San Diego business that sells women’s bags, the economic challenges have been overwhelming.

MacDonald said her sales in 2025 dropped by half compared to the year before, and she decreased her staff from 11 to three. She has spent tens of thousands of dollars paying tariffs, which also forced her to shift manufacturing from China to India. Though it’s unclear whether MacDonald will get tariff refunds due to a February U.S. Supreme Court ruling, she said the damage is already done.

• MacDonald: “That money could’ve gone to personnel or to growth, instead of going to a tax.”

Read more.

As Californians over 65 surge toward becoming the largest age group, senior centers are providing meals, classes and social connection to combat isolation. CalMatters’ Isadora Kosofsky, Joe Garcia and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on what some California centers are doing to address loneliness as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.