Hospice reforms to become law after Times investigation reveals widespread fraud, abuse

“Decades of unchecked growth in the California hospice industry will come to a halt Jan. 1, when a moratorium on new licenses takes effect along with reforms aimed at curbing widespread fraud in end-of-life care.

The licensing moratorium and a crackdown on kickbacks and patient-recruiting schemes are at the heart of legislative reforms outlined in two bills largely spurred by a Los Angeles Times investigation of the state’s booming hospice business last year.”