LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Federal officials on Thursday arrested eight people they say were involved in various health care fraud schemes totaling $50 million in and around Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Five of the cases involved hospice-care centers in cities of Glendale, Artesia, Tarzana and Simi Valley in the Los Angeles area that allegedly billed Medicare for patients that were not terminally ill and did not qualify for hospice services, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office said. One person was arrested in Idaho and another in LA for allegedly defrauding a West Coast labor union\u2019s health care plans. An additional person arrested in LA was accused of forging immigration medical documents. <\/p>\n
The Trump administration has made California, and the Los Angeles area in particular, a focus of its national anti-fraud efforts, alleging the Democratic-led state is failing to crack down on improper spending.<\/p>\n
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, a Trump appointee, called the California the \u201ckingdom of fraud,\u201d during a news conference announcing the charges. <\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s office said the state has already aggressively cracked down on hospice fraud, noting that he signed a law in 2021 to stop providing new hospice licenses over fraud concerns. The office also said the state has revoked more than 280 hospice licenses in two years and 300 providers are under investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlad the federal government is finally stepping up to do their part,\u201d Newsom wrote in a post on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n The administration has highlighted fraud around the country across federal benefits programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to create an anti-fraud task force<\/a> led by Vice President JD Vance, which met for the first time last week. Most of the efforts have focused on states run by Democrats, though Republican-led Florida<\/a> was among those asked to share more information on how they identify, prevent and address Medicaid fraud.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for criminals who defraud American taxpayers,\u201d Essayli said in a statement announcing the California charges.<\/p>\n Dr. Mehmet Oz said during a news conference that federal officials \u201ctook out\u201d 221 hospices in the last 10 weeks. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which Oz runs, did not immediately respond to an email seeking more information about what that entailed. CMS certifies hospice provides to accept patients on government-subsidized health insurance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to review every single hospice in California,\u201d Oz said.<\/p>\n