Gov. Joe Lombardo speaks during a property briefing Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. Photo by: Wade Vandervort
By Grace Da Rocha (contact)
Friday, June 5, 2026 | 9:09 p.m.
The Nevada Health Authority is temporarily pausing its licensure of caller hospice and home-health providers and enacting a moratorium connected caller enrollments for Nevada Medicaid, officials said contiguous successful a connection released by Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office.
The suspension volition beryllium successful spot “until authorities officials validate and corroborate the legitimacy of existent providers,” citing alleged fraud successful hospice and home-health services successful different states. The moratorium volition beryllium successful effect for astatine slightest six months.
“This impermanent intermission crossed authorities licensing and Medicaid is indispensable to let america clip to get a grip connected Medicaid billing fraud successful Nevada for these important services,” said Ann Jensen, the Nevada Medicaid director, successful a statement. “Without it, we volition proceed to suffer retired connected the clip needed to halt millions successful scarce nationalist resources from being stolen from atrocious actors who are posing arsenic legitimate, licensed hospice and location wellness providers.”
The determination isn’t sitting good with Democrats successful Nevada. Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Kate Sosland said successful a connection that “Lombardo would alternatively bow down to Trump than basal up for Nevadans.”
“Lombardo hasn’t provided immoderate grounds of wide fraud successful Nevada, and it is monstrous that helium would propulsion dying Nevadans nether the autobus to further Trump’s agenda.”
The authorities said fraud successful hospice and location wellness services has been a nationalist contented with accrued attraction successful caller months, including allegations of wide-scale fraud successful Minnesota.
Trump signed an enforcement bid March 16 directing astir a twelve national agencies to ace down connected fraud successful nationalist benefits and establishing the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
Hundreds of hospice and location wellness providers successful states similar California person been suspended connected accusations of attempted oregon committed Medicaid fraud.
On May 13, the medication announced nationwide audits of Medicaid Fraud Control Units — the federally funded watchdogs that oversee authorities divisions liable for uncovering maltreatment and pursuing transgression activity. All 50 states are taxable to the review.
The Nevada Health Authority said losses to authorities Medicaid “can beryllium important and astir intolerable to recover” due to the fact that “many fraudulent providers are present diverting stolen payments to offshore accounts” earlier the authorities tin instrumentality action. It presents “the urgent request for decisive action” to support the Medicaid programme and forestall immoderate nonaccomplishment of payer dollars, officials stressed.
The authorities volition behaviour extended reviews of each Medicaid-enrolled hospice and home-health providers implicit the adjacent six months to hunt for Medicaid billing and outgo fraud, officials said.
“Protecting payer dollars and preserving entree to prime healthcare services for Nevadans requires america to face fraud head-on,” Lombardo said successful a statement. “Bad actors who usage hospice and home-health programs arsenic vehicles to bargain nationalist funds are undermining attraction for those who request it most.”
The bureau said it volition enactment with the bureau of the Nevada Attorney General, national partners and instrumentality enforcement to initiate transgression investigations.
Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat challenging Lombardo for governor, said successful a connection issued by his run that “Joe Lombardo is utilizing Medicaid fraud to warrant his despicable governmental ploy of taking distant dying Nevadans’ wellness attraction to appease Donald Trump.”
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