Vice President JD Vance's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud suspended payments to 447 hospice providers and 23 home health agencies in the Los Angeles area earlier this month, flagging over $600 million in potential fraudulent billing against federal programs like Medicare.

The action, announced on April 15, marked a sharp escalation from earlier suspensions. At the start of April, officials had flagged 70 providers, rising to 221 shortly after and now reaching 447, a 539% increase in just weeks. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, working with the task force, shifted Medicare from a "pay and chase" model to a proactive "stop and clot" approach, immediately halting payments to high-risk providers.

Investigators identified red flags such as multiple hospices sharing addresses without corresponding patient increases, empty storefronts posing as care facilities, and suspicious billing patterns. One example involved dermatologist Dr. Fariba Javaherian, whose National Provider Identifier appeared on over 31,000 claims across 130 agencies from 2018 to 2025, totaling more than $173 million. Her profile is linked to 63 hospices, with 16 already suspended.

The task force, launched by President Trump on March 16 and comprising 10 federal agencies, including Justice, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, targets widespread healthcare fraud, particularly in California, where annual losses from home health and hospice schemes reach about $3.5 billion. Common tactics include enrolling non-terminal patients without consent, patient transfers for repeated payments, license flipping, and kickback referrals.

A Vance spokesperson emphasized the commitment: "Where there is fraud, the task force will find it. We will not stop until every hard-earned taxpayer dollar goes toward the honest Americans who deserve them." A White House official added a warning to fraudsters: "Good luck trying to hide from the Vice President’s task force... These suspension numbers, and the dollar values saved, are only going to increase."

Dr. Oz highlighted Javaherian's case: "It’s hundreds of millions of dollars over several years that she was able to bilk from the American people." The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services placed all California hospices under review starting March 1.

Industry leaders welcomed the crackdown. Sheila Clark, CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, stated: "We welcome today’s action to hold fraudulent hospice and home health agencies accountable that have exploited seniors and their families... Every dollar stolen from hospice... is a dollar of care not provided to Medicare patients who need it."

This Los Angeles sweep builds on prior successes, including blocking $259.5 million in fraudulent Minnesota Medicaid funds in February and FBI raids under Operation Never Say Die that charged 15 people in a separate $60 million scheme. Officials expect further suspensions as the task force pursues all leads nationwide.