Report 2021-123 Recommendation Responses
Report 2021-123: California Hospice Licensure and Oversight: The State's Weak Oversight of Hospice Agencies Has Created Opportunities for Large-Scale Fraud and Abuse (Release Date: March 2022)
Recommendation for Legislative Action
To protect the health and safety of current and prospective hospice patients, the Legislature should require Public Health to issue emergency regulations within one year, while maintaining the general moratorium on new hospice licenses until Public Health issues the
regulations. The emergency regulations should do the following: Establish time and distance standards that define the maximum time and distance hospice agency staff may travel to reach patients, taking into consideration typical traffic conditions and whether the hospice
agency is serving patients in rural or urban areas.
Description of Legislative Action
AB 2673 (Chapter 797, Statutes of 2022) requires, among other things, the Department of Public Health to issue emergency regulations to implement the recommendations in this audit report. This bill requires Public Health to maintain the moratorium on new hospice agencies until it adopts regulations, but no later than March 29, 2024, two years from the date we issued our audit report. This bill also requires the emergency regulations to establish time and distance standards as described in the audit recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: January 2023