NEW YORK, March 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In the wake of a sweeping investigation by CBS News identifying Los Angeles as “ground zero” for hospice fraud, Robin Heffernan, co-founder and CEO of Empassion Health, is calling for urgent action to strengthen oversight, restore trust, and better protect patients and families navigating end-of-life care, including greater public-private alignment to improve transparency and accountability across hospice care.
Heffernan is a longtime hospice executive, and her company, Empassion, is the nation’s largest manager of patients with serious illness, operating in 45 states. According to CBS News, in Los Angeles County alone, hundreds of hospice providers have been flagged with warning signs of potential fraud and abuse. Federal officials, including CMS and the Department of Justice, have also pointed to billions of dollars in improper hospice billing over time.
The CBS investigation, along with recent reporting that Congress is preparing to investigate hospice fraud, that federal agencies including CMS and the Department of Justice are intensifying enforcement, and that policymakers are increasingly focused on taxpayer losses tied to hospice abuse, underscores a growing consensus that the current system is not equipped to prevent bad actors from entering and operating within the hospice market.
“Hospice fraud is not just a financial or taxpayer issue, it is a patient and family protection issue,” said Heffernan. “The vast majority of hospice clinicians provide extraordinary care. But when bad actors exploit gaps in oversight, it harms patients, erodes trust, and undermines the integrity of hospice itself.”
While enforcement actions have accelerated — including federal investigations, audits, and criminal prosecutions — these efforts typically occur after harm has already occurred.
“The uncomfortable truth is that today, the hospice system lacks a clear, standardized framework that is backed by industry and recognized by regulators to distinguish high-quality providers from those exploiting the system,” Heffernan said.
Five Guardrails to Strengthen Hospice Oversight
As policymakers and regulators consider next steps, Heffernan is outlining five guardrails policymakers should consider to strengthen hospice oversight and better protect patients and families:
1. Ownership Transparency and Licensing Reform
Stronger disclosure requirements and licensing controls are needed to prevent bad actors from operating multiple hospice entities under opaque ownership structures.
2. Continuous Data Monitoring and Early Detection
Oversight today is largely retrospective. Regulators should enable continuous monitoring of key metrics with more timely reporting and real-time visibility to identify risks earlier and prevent harm.
3. Accountability Across Referral Networks
Hospitals, physician groups, and care coordinators should be supported — and expected — to refer patients to hospice providers that meet clear standards of quality and integrity.
4. Independent Quality Validation
The healthcare system should embrace independent frameworks that help identify hospice providers that are vetted, trusted, and transparent in their clinical practices and operations.
5. Greater Transparency for Patients and Families
Families making end-of-life decisions should have access to clear, accessible information about hospice provider quality, ownership, and regulatory history.
A Complement to Regulation — and a Role for Public-Private Partnership
Heffernan noted that industry-led quality frameworks are not a substitute for regulation, but rather a critical complement to public oversight.
“As other industries have shown, modern oversight works best when strong public regulation is paired with credible, independent mechanisms that promote transparency and accountability,” said Heffernan. “That kind of public-private alignment is needed in hospice care today.”
One example of this approach is Empassion Assured, an independent certification program designed to help identify hospice providers that meet rigorous standards for clinical integrity, ethical practices, and patient-centered care.
Through ongoing evaluation across eligibility, compliance, care delivery, and patient experience, Empassion Assured helps create a more vetted, trusted, and transparent hospice ecosystem, and provides patients, families, payers, and providers with clearer signals of quality before critical care decisions are made.
“As the policy response evolves, it will be important for regulators and lawmakers to engage with organizations working to improve transparency and accountability in hospice care,” Heffernan added. “Responsible providers, and the frameworks that help identify them, must be part of the solution.”
A Moment for Action
With federal agencies, lawmakers, and investigators increasingly focused on hospice fraud, the industry is approaching an inflection point.
“Investigative reporting has brought needed attention to this issue,” Heffernan said. “Now is the time to act, to strengthen oversight, improve transparency, and ensure that patients and families can rely on a system that is worthy of their trust.”
About Empassion Health
Empassion is on a mission to effectively and conveniently provide high-quality care for adults living with serious illness so that they can have more good days. Empassion operates in 45 states and partners with tens of thousands of community-based supportive care providers. Empassion serves multiple lines of business including Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and SNP populations. For more information about Empassion’s value-based programs, please visit https://empassion.com
- Robin Heffernan, Ph.D., and co-founder/CEO of Empassion