Momentum grows nationally to protect patients and preserve high-quality hospice care
The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the national voice for nonprofit hospice and palliative care providers, applauds California Attorney General Rob Bonta for launching a comprehensive statewide campaign to combat hospice fraud.
This campaign includes public service announcements, community outreach events, and a new reporting hotline designed to educate consumers about hospice fraud. It comes amid a broader national effort by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to strengthen hospice program integrity and crack down on fraudulent providers across the country, with heightened focus on fraud-prone states such as California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas.
NPHI proudly serves as a collaborative voice with CMS, actively partnering to shape solutions that protect patients and support high-quality, mission-driven hospice providers while rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse. CMS Deputy Administrator and COO Kim Brandt will speak to NPHI members this September to provide updates on CMS’s program integrity initiatives and hear directly from nonprofit providers committed to ethical, patient-centered care.
Statement from NPHI Founder & CEO, Tom Koutsoumpas:
“When done with integrity, hospice represents one of the most profound and humane models of care in our healthcare system. Most providers continue to deliver that care with compassion, excellence, and commitment. But a growing number of fraudulent actors exploit the system by billing for care they never provide thereby undermining trust in a system that is meant to bring comfort, dignity, and peace during life’s most vulnerable moments.”
“It’s our duty to close these loopholes and preserve hospice care for what it was always meant to be: mission-driven, patient-centered, and rooted in community trust. We are encouraged by California’s leadership and by the clear signal coming from CMS. NPHI is proud to collaborate with federal partners and support providers who hold themselves to the highest ethical standards.”
"When done with integrity, hospice represents one of the most profound and humane models of care in our healthcare system."
At the center of this work is a commitment to patients and families — ensuring they receive compassionate, high-quality hospice care when they need it most. NPHI will continue to partner with state and federal leaders to protect this mission-driven care, so that every patient’s final journey is marked by dignity, comfort, and trust.
