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Medicare beneficiary tells committee she was wrongly enrolled in hospice and denied care
Summary
Dr. Lynn Yanni told the House committee that a fraudulently created hospice enrollment left her unable to get care and locked her out of services until an advocacy group intervened; she urged Congress to strengthen fraud detection and speed appeals.
Dr. Lynn Yanni, a licensed psychotherapist and Medicare beneficiary, told the House Ways and Means Committee she was falsely enrolled in hospice in July 2024 and prevented from receiving needed care.
"According to their records, I was enrolled in hospice care," Yanni said, describing calls with Medicare that stretched into hours without any confirmation that her appeal had been received. She recounted finding a hospice listing on Medicare's website that used a physician's NPI without the physician's knowledge and an address that led to a strip mall. "Imagine being told in effect that you are at the end of your life when you are not, and then being denied access to care because of that error," she told the committee.
Yanni said weeks of phone calls and appeals produced no timeline or clear remedy and that only after connecting with California's Senior Medicare Patrol did Medicare quietly correct her file and issue a new card. She warned the committee that others — older or sicker patients without her training or persistence — may remain trapped.
She urged lawmakers to create a clear federal pathway to unwind fraudulent hospice elections, improve responsiveness within the appeals process, and ensure accountability so beneficiaries are not left without care. "Medicare is not just a program. It is a lifeline," Yanni said, asking the committee to make the system navigable for the people it serves.
The testimony illustrated a concrete beneficiary harm that witnesses and members repeatedly cited as evidence the government needs stronger front‑end safeguards and clearer remedies for victims.
