The Nevada Legislature is set to review Assembly Bill 161, a proposal aimed at tightening regulations on the rapidly growing hospice care industry. The bill, introduced by Assembly member Rebecca Edgeworth, seeks to protect vulnerable patients from neglect and financial exploitation by imposing stricter oversight on hospice providers.
In 2020, Nevada had fewer than 70 hospice facilities. By 2025, that number has surged to over 270. While some of this growth is due to the state’s rising population, Edgeworth and industry advocates argue that lax regulations have allowed bad actors to flood the market. “There was a moratorium put on hospices and a crackdown in California, so a bunch of the flimflam artists came and poured into Nevada to take advantage of people,” Edgeworth said.
Hospice providers supporting AB 161 warn that unethical operators are cutting corners, failing to report properly, and neglecting patients. Karen Rubel, CEO of Nathan Adelson Hospice, Nevada’s only nonprofit hospice, testified about cases of severe neglect, including an elderly patient found in a home infested with rats and feces after being left in an unlivable condition under hospice care.
“Caring for people who are dying has become a big business, and we should not let greed dictate the care that vulnerable patients receive,” Rubel stated.
Edgeworth, the only practicing physician in the Assembly, stressed that the bill is not designed to shut down hospices but to ensure they meet basic care standards. “Hundreds of people in beds have nobody to advocate for them. They’re just laying there. We have to do something, right?” she said.
With concerns over elder abuse and fraud rising, AB 161 faces legislative debate on how best to regulate an industry essential to end-of-life care.
