89 Hospices, One Address—How?

Taxpayer-funded Medicare hospice dollars in Los Angeles appear to have been routed through “phantom” providers so brazenly that dozens of companies were reportedly tied to a single building—raising fresh alarms about government waste and weak oversight.

Story Snapshot

Independent reporter Nick Shirley publicized alleged hospice and daycare billing fraud in Los Angeles County, claiming at least $170 million in improper activity, though the calculation has not been fully disclosed.
CBS reporting cited by other outlets found extreme “clustering,” including 89 hospice companies registered to one Van Nuys Boulevard building, with most showing multiple red flags.
California officials say the state formed a multi-agency Hospice Fraud Task Force and has revoked more than 280 hospice licenses in two years, with about 300 more providers under investigation.
Despite headlines suggesting fraudsters were “shut down,” available reporting indicates enforcement is ongoing, not a completed cleanup.

What Shirley’s Footage Put Back on the Map

Nick Shirley released a video in mid-March documenting addresses listed as hospices or daycares that appeared to be empty buildings, residences, or closed properties. The reporting framed the problem as organized exploitation of taxpayer-funded health programs, with Los Angeles County highlighted as a hotspot. Shirley also pointed to a pattern he says mirrors his earlier Minnesota daycare work: rapid growth in providers, aggressive billing, and limited real-world services visible at registered locations.

Even in outlets that treated Shirley’s claims cautiously, the larger takeaway was hard to ignore: Los Angeles County’s hospice sector has expanded far beyond what normal demographics would suggest. Reporting described a 1,000% surge in hospice care spending in the county despite stable population trends, with hospice care representing a notable share of U.S. home healthcare expenditures. For conservative taxpayers who already distrust bloated bureaucracy, the question becomes basic: how did oversight allow this scale of growth without tripping alarms sooner?

The “89 Hospices” Building and Why Clustering Matters

CBS analysis referenced in subsequent coverage highlighted “clustering” as a major warning sign—multiple hospice companies tied to the same address, and in some cases overlapping personnel. One Van Nuys Boulevard building reportedly had 89 hospice companies registered there, with 72 showing multiple indicators associated with fraud risk and nearly 40 sharing key personnel. State auditors and officials described these patterns as consistent with organized networks exploiting Medicare and Medi-Cal billing systems.

The alleged mechanics are straightforward and infuriating if proven: shell entities can be created and then used to bill for services never delivered, including by using stolen beneficiary information. A CBS journalist explained that shell companies may buy stolen Medicare numbers on the dark web and bill the government for care that never happened. That matters not just for dollars, but for human dignity—because hospice patients and families rely on legitimate end-of-life care, not paper companies designed to vacuum up funds.

California’s Task Force Response—Action, But Not a Finish Line

California’s response, according to Fox News reporting, includes a multi-agency Hospice Fraud Task Force involving public health and social services agencies plus the state Justice Department. Officials also pointed to “coordinated action” such as suspending Medi-Cal payments, revoking licenses, and pursuing prosecutions. The same reporting said more than 280 hospice licenses were revoked over two years and roughly 300 more providers were under investigation for possible revocation as of March 2026.

Those numbers suggest real movement, but they do not confirm the simplified claim that “fraudsters were shut down” because of Shirley’s reporting. Available coverage does not establish a direct cause-and-effect link between the video and the enforcement activity, and it remains unclear whether specific addresses highlighted in the video triggered specific raids, arrests, or closures. Conservative readers should treat the “shut down” framing as premature unless agencies publicly document which entities were closed and why.

The Political Spin vs. the Oversight Reality

The politics around this story are messy. Reporting says Gov. Gavin Newsom previously brushed off similar fraud-focused investigations as “political cosplay,” with accusations of profiling. At the same time, the state has cited task forces, license revocations, and investigations—actions that implicitly acknowledge serious vulnerabilities in licensing and monitoring. When officials argue the mess is exaggerated yet simultaneously mobilize enforcement, the public is left with uncertainty: was the system under control, or was it only forced to respond once the spotlight hit?

For Trump-era conservatives who want accountable government—not bigger government—this case lands at the worst intersection: massive federal spending with weak verification, then a scramble for new task forces after the money is already gone. The constitutional issue is not abstract; it is the routine normalization of waste and administrative failure that invites more federal control, more rules for honest providers, and more excuses for future spending hikes. Until prosecutions and recoveries are documented, the public only has fragments.