Los Angeles Office Building With 89 Hospices Flagged as Medicare Fraud Red Flag
CBS News visited a three‑story office building in Los Angeles and found state records showing 89 hospice providers registered at that single address. Advocates and state auditors called the concentration an extreme example of "clustering" and a major red flag for potential Medicare fraud.
📌 Key Facts
- State records show 89 hospice entities licensed to a single three‑story office building in Los Angeles.
- State auditors have characterized such clustering of licensed hospices as a major red flag for possible Medicare fraud.
- Advocates quoted in the report described the Los Angeles site as one of the most extreme examples of “clustering.”
- CBS News published a video package of the investigation (Facebook, 2026-03-19) that reiterates those findings.
- The CBS item adds no new numbers, regulatory actions, or identified companies beyond what prior reporting already captured.
📊 Relevant Data
Racial and ethnic disparities exist in hospice utilization among Medicare decedents, with 50% of White decedents enrolling in hospice compared to 38% of Black decedents.
Study Documents Racial Differences in U.S. Hospice Use and End-of-Life Care Preferences — Johns Hopkins Medicine
Hispanic Medicare decedents use hospice at lower rates than non-Hispanic White decedents, with utilization rates of 42.3% for Hispanics compared to 52.4% for non-Hispanic Whites in recent data.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Hospice Use Among Medicaid-Only and Dual-Eligible Decedents — JAMA Health Forum
The 1,500% increase in hospice agencies in Los Angeles County since 2010 is attributed to weak state oversight and lax licensing processes that have created opportunities for large-scale fraud.
California Hospice Licensure and Oversight — California State Auditor
Several individuals convicted in hospice fraud schemes in California have Armenian surnames, indicating potential overrepresentation of Armenian-Americans in such cases, given that Armenians comprise about 1-2% of the Los Angeles County population.
Four California Residents Sentenced to Prison in Connection with $16M Hospice Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme — U.S. Department of Justice
Van Nuys, the location of the Merabi Professional Medical Plaza, has a population that is 57.4% Hispanic or Latino, 24.6% White, 6.3% Asian, and 4.1% Black, reflecting significant demographic shifts toward higher immigrant and Hispanic representation since the 1990s.
LA City (North Central/Van Nuys & North Sherman Oaks) PUMA, CA — Data USA
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- The CBS item is essentially the video packaging of the same investigation, reiterating that state records show 89 hospices licensed to a single three‑story Los Angeles office building.
- Advocates quoted by CBS explicitly describe the site as one of the most extreme examples of "clustering," echoing state auditors’ characterization of such patterns as major red flags for possible fraud.
- The article/video text here adds no new numbers, regulatory actions, or identified companies beyond what is already captured in the existing summary.