CMS is placing extra oversight on new hospices in four states — Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas — because of a yearlong stack of hospice fraud, waste and abuse reports.
These states have also seen significant increases in new hospices, which raises "serious concerns about market oversaturation," CMS said.
Hospices that began enrolling in the Medicare program or started a change in ownership since July 13 will be subject to enhanced oversight.
The oversight will include medical review, such as prepayment review, and can last between 30 days and one year.