To the editor: The Los Angeles Times reports that California still has not enacted the hospice regulations promised after past fraud scandals (“California was warned of shocking hospice fraud. Inaction allowed scams to continue,” April 17).
That delay is not a paperwork problem. It is a patient-safety failure. Hospice should mean comfort, dignity and trust, not a loophole for people who exploit Medicare and vulnerable families.
California does not need another investigation before acting. It needs the emergency rules finalized now, real enforcement and public reporting so fraud can be stopped before it reaches another bedside.
Hanbin Yu, Berkeley
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To the editor: With all the hand-wringing about this topic, I have yet to see any realistic suggestions about how to meaningfully monitor it so as to root out fraud.
Recently, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz scampered around, making allegations based on street addresses used by providers, acting as though we should see clinics at these locations. He’s a doctor, so he should understand that the actual hospice care is primarily provided in patients’ homes, not at outpatient facilities.
Therein lies the challenge; surely someone being paid a generous salary to administer these programs can come up with a more sophisticated approach to the problem.
Susan Wolfson, Glendale