Staff Reports
An Anaheim woman pleaded guilty this week to running a scheme that billed Medicare for hospice care patients who were not actually terminal. The case is a clear example of fraud that drains taxpayer dollars and hurts trust in a program millions depend on. It also shows the Department of Justice is putting muscle behind its anti-fraud push.
Guilty plea after $2.2 million Medicare hospice fraud
Lynn Galbraith, 60, admitted she caused Azure Hospice Care Inc. to submit about $2,266,694 in false hospice claims to Medicare. Medicare paid the company roughly $2,140,606 on those claims. Prosecutors say Galbraith either knew the patients did not qualify for hospice or there was not enough medical documentation to support a hospice prognosis. One example cited by the government was a single October 2022 claim for $6,600 that lacked sufficient records to justify hospice care.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
The plea says Galbraith was co-owner and operator of the Garden Grove hospice from September 2019 through July 2022, and then became sole owner until February 2024. Instead of coordinating with patients’ primary doctors and documenting a six-month life expectancy as Medicare requires, prosecutors say Azure billed for hospice services anyway. In plain terms: billing for end-of-life care without the paperwork or medical basis that makes hospice legitimate. That’s not a business model — it’s theft dressed up as healthcare.
Federal crackdown and what comes next
This prosecution arrives as part of a broader federal crackdown on healthcare fraud. The Department of Justice has been aggressively pursuing hospice and other healthcare fraud cases through the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The work dovetails with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance, and has the backing of President Donald Trump’s administration. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is investigating, Assistant United States Attorney Rosalind Wang is prosecuting the case, and United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt will hear sentencing on December 3, when Galbraith faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
Medicare is a precious program for roughly 66 million Americans. Every dollar stolen by scammers reduces care for seniors and accelerates the strain on the system. Good to see prosecutors moving fast — but words and headlines aren’t enough. At sentencing, judges should send a clear message: defraud Medicare, and you will pay. If the government follows through with tougher enforcement, exclusions, and restitution, taxpayer confidence will begin to recover. Until then, fraudsters will keep trying to turn hospice into a billing department with a heartwarming name and a hollow conscience.
