A California hospice where nearly all "terminal" patients were still alive after five years has become the latest flashpoint in a widening Medicare fraud crackdown, CBS News reports. Federal agents on Thursday arrested Gladwin and Amelou Gill, a married physician and psychologist who co-own 626 Hospice, accused of billing Medicare $7.45 million for patients prosecutors say shouldn't have qualified for end-of-life care. The San Dimas raid kicked off a broader operation involving 15 defendants, more than half tied to alleged hospice schemes, according to US Attorney Bill Essayli. Some suspects were allegedly running scams from behind bars. Among the suspects are nurses and other health care professionals, KTLA reports.
The case lands amid mounting scrutiny of the booming hospice industry, especially in Los Angeles County, where a 2022 state audit flagged patterns such as sky-high survival rates, low patient counts, heavy staff overlap among companies, and clusters of dozens of hospices at single office addresses. A CBS News analysis found more than 700 of about 1,800 county hospices tripped multiple red flags. Federal watchdogs estimate suspected hospice fraud hit roughly $198 million in 2023. The House Oversight Committee, citing that reporting, has launched a probe and pressed Gov. Gavin Newsom for answers, while California has frozen new hospice licenses through early 2027 as it tries to tighten oversight.
"These defendants recruited beneficiaries who were not terminally ill, and paid them to pose as patients receiving hospice care," said Essayli, per ABC 7. "Medicare then paid millions of dollars—hundreds of millions of dollars—on false and fraudulent claims submitted by fraudsters."
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