House Republicans have opened an investigation into alleged hospice fraud in California, citing a CBS News investigation that found widespread warning signs among hospice operators in Los Angeles County and raising concerns about potentially tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer losses.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee said Monday it had sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom seeking documents on the state’s oversight of federally funded hospice programs, according to CBS News. In the letter, committee members said recent reporting had revealed “alarming evidence” of fraudulent activity, including overbilling of Medicare and the enrollment of beneficiaries without their knowledge.

The news agency’s review of business and financial records for every hospice currently operating in Los Angeles County found that more than 700 of roughly 1,800 hospices triggered multiple fraud red flags identified in a 2022 state audit.

The inquiry focuses on Southern California. The news outlet found that the typical hospice in Los Angeles County billed Medicare about $29,000 per patient, more than double the national average of $13,200. The highest amount billed by a single hospice in the county was $74,000 per patient, CBS said, adding that nearly all L.A. County hospices with available Medicare data billed above the national average.

The committee’s letter requests records and communications from January 1, 2019, to the present from the governor’s office and multiple state agencies, including the Department of Health Care Services, Department of Public Health, Department of Social Services, and the California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, according to the report.

Newsom’s office told the news agency that California moved years ago to address hospice fraud and noted that Newsom signed legislation in 2021 imposing a moratorium on new hospice licenses. That moratorium remains in place, the spokesperson said, and was recently extended through January 2027 after the state missed a deadline to enact new emergency regulations.

The governor’s office also pointed to a multi-agency hospice fraud task force, telling CBS News that more than 280 hospice licenses have been revoked over the past two years and that another 300 providers are under investigation.

Hospice fraud remains a national issue, according to CBS, which cited a 2023 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General estimating suspected hospice fraud at $198.1 million. 

Read more at CBS News