Medicare fraud happening on a monumental scale in California (and in Los Angeles in particular). X post below which has since been retweeted by Elon.
Newsom will be a failure to launch with story after story coming out. But he actually probably deserves some time behind bars.
Anecdotal note: My mother went through hospice care this past year (on Medicare). They were great but they also maxxed out the benefits ordering meds, pillows, trays, feeding implements, and such that was not needed and could not possible be consumed before her passing. Wasteful for sure. This stuff in LA is next level fraud.
Newsom will be a failure to launch with story after story coming out. But he actually probably deserves some time behind bars.
Anecdotal note: My mother went through hospice care this past year (on Medicare). They were great but they also maxxed out the benefits ordering meds, pillows, trays, feeding implements, and such that was not needed and could not possible be consumed before her passing. Wasteful for sure. This stuff in LA is next level fraud.
Incredible investigation today from @CBSNews. Our reporters visited "ground zero" for hospice fraud: Los Angeles, California. One building had 89 registered hospices . . .
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) March 10, 2026
Read it here:https://t.co/cHuzIo4Xec
Quote:
Medicare is federally administered, and hospices must be certified for reimbursements. But the state issues the licenses for hospices to operate.
Three years ago, California's state auditor sounded the alarm that Los Angeles County had seen a 1,500% increase in hospice companies since 2010 more than six times the national average relative to its elderly population.
Auditors estimated LA County hospices overbilled Medicare by $105 million in a single year. The report called out notable red flags key warning signs of fraud:
- Multiple hospices in one building
- Geographic clustering
- Low patient counts
- High rates of terminally ill patients later discharged alive
- Excessive billing
- Staff shared across multiple companies
- The state says it proceeded to investigate and revoke the licenses of 280 hospices.
The CBS News analysis reveals that over 700 of the roughly 1,800 hospices in LA County, trigger multiple red flags for fraud as defined by the state.
CBS News reached out to Governor Newsom's office. A spokesperson sent us a January 2026 statement, which reads in part, "Under Governor Newsom's administration, California has cracked down on hospice fraud, launched partnerships across state agencies, and the California Department of Justice has arrested criminals to hold them accountable."