Feds arrest suspects in massive hospice fraud crackdown
Feds arrested eight suspects in a $50M hospice fraud scheme, alleging fake patients, cash kickbacks and bogus Medicare billing. (Fox News Channel)
As allegations of widespread hospice fraud in Los Angeles County continue to intensify, one physician has faced scrutiny after being tied to Medicare claims for thousands of patients across dozens of hospices.
Dr. Rajiv Bhuva has been linked to Medicare claims for nearly 2,800 patients across 126 California hospices in 2024, according to CBS News, which cited the last full year of available data. Bhuva is connected to more hospices than any other doctor, according to CBS News, which said that out of the 126 hospice companies where claims have been connected to him, 115 are in LA County.
CBS News has spent weeks doing a dive into alleged rampant hospice fraud in Los Angeles County. It found 742 hospice facilities out of the approximately 1,800 in LA County showed multiple red flags for fraud as defined by the state of California.
While the average California hospice doctor cares for approximately 140 patients annually, Bhuva's numbers far exceeded that number, with CBS News finding 2,791 claims for terminally ill patients were submitted with his name on them in 2024.
HOUSE COMMITTEE LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO 'RAMPANT' CALIFORNIA HOSPICE FRAUD
A room is shown in the extended care facility at Valley Health Hampshire Memorial Hospital on June 17, 2025 in Romney, W.V. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The claims resulted in $71.7 million in Medicare reimbursements, according to CBS News. The outlet noted that only one other California doctor had received more Medicare reimbursements than Bhuva: Dr. Domingo Barrientos, whose reimbursements totaled $90.3 million. In 2024, Barrientos was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and is currently in federal prison.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has been outspoken about Medicare fraud in California, confirmed that Bhuva "had his ability to bill Medicare revoked this past March."
"To all the fraudsters out there stealing from our seniors: run, don’t walk. Because we’re coming after you," Oz wrote on social media.
Dr. Kristina Newport, chief medical officer at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, told CBS News that Bhuva would "have a superhuman schedule" to work with the number of patients he's been connected to "in a meaningful way."
Bhuva has not been charged with a crime, but the number of claims tied to his name, which span thousands of patients and over 120 hospices, has raised eyebrows.
A stock photo of a Hospice Nurse visiting an elderly patient who is receiving hospice/palliative care. (iStock)
VANCE ANTI-FRAUD TASK FORCE SUSPENDS 221 CALIFORNIA HOSPICE AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SO FAR
In 2022, California's state auditors warned that working for more than three hospice providers at one time would be an indicator of fraud.
"This pattern of individual administrators supposedly working for a large number of hospice agencies raises questions about whether they are actually participating in the operations of any or all of those agencies," the auditor's report reads.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office responded to a clip of CBS News' reporting, saying that it was a federal matter, rather than a state issue.
"FACT: The state has no role in the Medicare billing or payment process. We are glad the Trump Admin is taking action to combat fraud. Now, if Trump could stop pardoning fraudsters—and hold them accountable—that would be great!," Newsom's press office wrote on X.
While the state does not process Medicare payments, it does license hospice providers, effectively determining which organizations can enroll in the federal program and bill taxpayers. State auditors have previously warned that California’s "weak controls have created the opportunity for large-scale fraud and abuse."
Recently, Fox News Digital learned that an anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance suspended 221 providers in Los Angeles due to suspected fraud. This included a number of providers who were raided by federal authorities.
"The Administration's War on Fraud once again yields results as more suspensions take place and fraudsters face justice for ripping off hard-working Americans and stealing their tax dollars and social services," a Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "The Vice President and his task force are proud of these latest figures and expect to see this number continue to grow dramatically."
Mugshots of multiple suspects charged in a $50 million health care fraud scheme tied to sham hospice operations in Los Angeles. (FBI)
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and Bhuva's office for comment.
Fox News Digital's Peter Pinedo and Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
