An unassuming Los Angeles office plaza is apparently home to 89 licensed hospice companies — but the building manager said he only has a record of 12 businesses, according to a report.
The stunning number of apparent hospice companies located at Merabi Professional Medical Plaza, a three-story, 32,000-square-foot building in Van Nuys, is raising serious concerns about so-called “ghost hospices,” or companies that operate on paper and bill Medicare, but don’t provide any real services, CBS News reported.
“This particular building I noticed, I’m like, ‘dang, how can there be that many licensed and certified hospices in this tiny little building?” patient advocate, Sheila Clark, told the outlet.
She said it made “no sense” for that many licensed and certified hospice companies to be housed in the same building, and it raised concern for her because “the number of agencies in these areas likely exceeds the number of patients who need services.”
The building’s owner, Kambiz Merabi, told CBS News he does not believe any of the businesses are illegitimate and that he allowed Medicare inspectors looking for hospice agencies into the building two years ago.
However, he also said his records only show 12 hospice companies operating in his building, not 89.
Still, he noted that he’s not his tenants’ “keeper.”
“I’m not a police or keeper of what they do, how they do business,” Merabi said.
Merabi’s website lists “virtual offices” among his services, charging a $99 monthly fee in exchange for a “real street address” and a “virtual receptionist” who forwards calls.
The package includes a day pass for access to office space.
The report comes after Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz recently remarked about rampant hospice fraud in Los Angeles.
“I want to make it clear, we’re not going to pay you money just because you sent me a piece of paper with a bill on it. We’re going to check to make sure that’s legitimate, and that document is evidence that you actually performed something that’s helpful to the American people,” Oz said. “Or you’re not getting money from us.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta told CBS News that California is “committed to tackling the issue until we root it out and extinguish all fraud.”
Merabi said he supports any effort to root out fraud.
“I’m all for it because at the end of the day, you and I are paying for all those things that are not right,” Merabi told the outlet.
The Post reached out to Merabi for comment.
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