Oregon lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill designed to strengthen oversight of hospice providers and prevent fraudulent operators from entering the state.<\/p>\n
Senate Bill 1575<\/a> would temporarily pause most new hospice licenses while the state updates its licensing rules \u2014 a process the agency would have two years to complete. The Senate Committee on Health Care voted 3-2 to send it to the full Senate.<\/p>\n Hospice care provides medical, emotional and spiritual support to people nearing the end of life, most often in their homes or long-term care facilities. It is largely funded through Medicare and plays a crucial role for families navigating terminal illness.<\/p>\n As of late January, the Oregon Health Authority listed<\/a> about 75 licensed hospice providers operating statewide.<\/p>\n State Sen. Deb Patterson, D-Salem, the bill\u2019s chief sponsor, said the bill is meant to get ahead of problems that have surfaced elsewhere.<\/p>\n The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, for example, has expanded its enhanced oversight program \u2014 originally focused on California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas \u2014 to include Georgia and Ohio, reflecting rising concerns about hospice fraud. Senior leaders of the federal agency recently visited states with high levels of documented fraud.<\/p>\n Oregon lawmakers and hospice leaders say the state hasn\u2019t seen the same large-scale fraud schemes uncovered in California and other states, but they want to prevent that from happening before it starts. <\/p>\n Patterson said lawmakers brought the proposal back in the short session because it nearly passed last year but needed more time for input.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to be sure every voice was heard,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cHopefully we will help to protect the dying and make sure that they get quality care through hospice.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill would prohibit the Oregon Health Authority from issuing new hospice licenses for up to two years. During that time, the agency would be required to develop tougher screening standards aimed at ensuring hospice operators are financially stable, well-run and qualified to care for dying patients.<\/p>\n SB 1575 would require new hospice applicants to disclose license suspensions, fraud findings and other negative performance history in Oregon and other states. That scrutiny would extend to anyone with at least a 5% ownership stake, as well as the hospice\u2019s top manager and supervising doctor. <\/p>\n The bill also would require the Oregon Health Authority to conduct criminal background checks on administrators, medical directors and those who own at least a 5% stake in the hospice. The agency could deny a license based on the severity or frequency of past violations or if an applicant knowingly provides false information. It could also suspend or revoke a license for false statements.<\/p>\n Under the proposal, hospice providers that have been banned from Medicare or Medicaid, or found liable for health care fraud or abuse, would be prohibited from owning a hospice in Oregon.<\/p>\n Lawmakers carved out exceptions to the temporary pause on new licenses. For example, state regulators could still approve licenses for existing hospices expanding into new service areas, ownership changes, health facilities adding hospice services for their own patients and providers serving underserved communities.<\/p>\n Supporters of SB 1575 said the changes are needed as the hospice industry has expanded rapidly nationwide in recent years, fueled in part by corporate and private equity investment. In several states, regulators have uncovered cases of fraud and patient neglect. <\/p>\n In California, state and federal investigators found some for-profit hospices enrolling people without their knowledge, stealing identities, submitting fake Medicare claims and then neglecting patients in their final months of life. The state has revoked the licenses of more than 280 hospices<\/a> over the past two years.<\/p>\n Federal officials have also flagged cases of hospices listing fake business addresses and signing up patients who were not terminally ill. <\/p>\n