One hospice Dr in Cali billed Medicare $71.7 million in one year

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A CBS News Investigation found one Los Angeles County hospice physician's name, Dr. Rajiv Bhuva, on Medicare claims for nearly 2,800 patients across 126 California hospices in 2024, according to the last full year of available data.

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The search for Dr. Bhuva

Bhuva, 55, earned his medical degree from St. Georges University in Grenada and completed his residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, according to his WebMD profile.

In records reviewed by CBS News, Bhuva's name is listed as certifying terminally ill patients across scores of hospice facilities in 2024, generating a total of $71.7 million in Medicare reimbursements — among the highest in California.

The only California hospice physician with a higher Medicare reimbursement total in recent years was Dr. Domingo Barrientos, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in 2024 and is currently serving a federal prison sentence.

According to Medicare data, the average California hospice physician cares for roughly 140 patients annually. In 2024, Bhuva certified 2,791 patients as terminally ill — approximately 20 times the state average.

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Terminal patients who don't die

The role of a certifying physician in hospice requires face-to-face evaluations, regular plan-of-care reviews, and recertifications of terminal illness — work that usually requires significant time with each patient, Newport, who has been practicing in the field for 18 years, said.

Typically, hospice care requires hands-on attention by a care team, often delivered at a patient's home or bedside.

There are a range of explanations for why one physician might be identified in connection with the care of so many patients, according to hospice patient advocate Sheila Clark. They could be lending their medical license and credentials to companies that are billing Medicare for substandard care. Or, Clark said, the hospice may be billing taxpayers for care that is never provided — using false or stolen identities to submit for reimbursement. California officials have acknowledged that as a problem in the state's hospice industry.

One key role for physicians in submitting billing requests to Medicare is to provide certification that the patient is indeed suffering from a terminal illness. But California auditors reported in 2022 that, at times, that certification may be little more than a rubber stamp. They wrote that there are few legitimate explanations for a physician's name to appear on thousands of claims.

State auditors have reported that a high survival rate among a hospice provider's patients can be a key indicator for fraud because most people seeking palliative care are expected to be in the final stages of a terminal illness.

Of Bhuva's 2,791 patients, according to state and federal records reviewed by CBS News, fewer than 2% died in 2024.

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