[WASHINGTON, DC] – The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), representing the nation’s leading nonprofit, mission-driven, safety-net, hospice and advanced illness care providers, is calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement a temporary, nationwide moratorium on new hospice provider enrollments in response to the continued growth of fraudulent providers exploiting the Medicare hospice benefit.
In a letter sent today to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Deputy Administrator Kimberly Brandt, NPHI outlines concerns regarding the unchecked expansion of fraudulent hospice providers and the impact on patients, families, and the integrity of the Medicare program.
“NPHI urges CMS to implement a temporary, nationwide moratorium on new hospice provider enrollments in response to the continued growth of fraudulent providers in the hospice community,” said Tom Koutsoumpas, Founder and CEO of NPHI. “These bad actors exploit vulnerable patients, undermine trust, and threaten the integrity of the Medicare hospice benefit.”
NPHI emphasizes that the fraud issue stems from a subset of providers exploiting gaps in oversight, not from the hospice model itself.
“It’s important to be clear — this is not a failure of the hospice model of care. It is the result of a subset of providers exploiting the healthcare system, and that must stop,” Koutsoumpas added.“We will continue working closely with federal leaders to advance targeted, evidence-based solutions that close loopholes, strengthen enforcement, and protect the integrity of the hospice benefit so patients and families receive the high-quality care they deserve.”
NPHI’s letter recommends that any moratorium be explicitly time-limited and paired with a clear path forward, allowing CMS to focus on identifying and removing fraudulent providers currently operating within the system while preventing new bad actors from entering. The organization also underscores the importance of maintaining access to Medicare telehealth flexibilities to ensure continued access to timely, high-quality care, particularly for patients in rural and underserved communities.
“This issue is deeply frustrating to the many high-quality, mission-driven hospice providers — especially nonprofit organizations — that have served their communities with compassion and integrity for decades,” added Koutsoumpas. “We cannot allow the actions of a small number of bad actors to erode public trust or discourage families from seeking hospice care when they need it most.”
NPHI represents nonprofit, community-based hospice providers that have long served as the foundation of care in the home. Many of its members helped shape the Medicare hospice benefit and continue to deliver high-quality, interdisciplinary, patient-centered care across the country.
“It is critical that any actions are precise and do not create unnecessary burden for providers who are delivering care the right way every day,” Koutsoumpas continues in the letter.
NPHI stands ready to collaborate with CMS to ensure that reforms protect patients, strengthen program integrity, and preserve access to high‑quality, community‑based hospice care.
Read the full letter sent to CMS here.
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Media Contact:
Matt Wilkinson
Communications Director, NPHI
matt@nphihealth.org
(801) 615-4207
