THE FREE PRESS

The $35 Sentence: How Predatory Hospice Schemes Silence Seniors

By Vicki Lawana Trusselli

For years, I worked in the film and music industries in LA and Austin—I know a script when I see one. But the script being handed to seniors in Riverside and other cities today is not just fiction; it is federal fraud.

A couple of months ago, Avior Hospice approached me. Like thousands of others, I was told I could receive "extra support" while keeping my own specialists and doctors. My "sixth sense" (sharpened by decades of life and a Complex PTSD diagnosis) warned me something was off. When I dug deeper, I found the trap: by signing their paperwork, I was legally declaring myself terminal agreeing that I would die within six months.

The Silent Lockout

The moment that ink dried, Molina and Medicare "locked" my charts. My mental health therapy—lifeline for my PTSD—was cut off. My therapist went unpaid for two months. My access to specialists and the ER was effectively stripped away under the guise of "palliative care."

The Benefit Erosion

This predatory behavior is happening while our everyday benefits are being thinned to the bone. My Over-the-Counter (OTC) benefit was recently slashed to a mere $35 a month. While insurance companies and fraudulent hospices pocket thousands in government payouts, we are left to choose between basic health supplies and our right to see a doctor.

The Whistleblower's Duty

I discontinued my enrollment immediately. Had I stayed, I would have been an unwitting participant in a scheme that is currently draining billions from the Medicare system. California is currently under a "Hospice Election Notification" pilot program because this fraud is so rampant.

If you are a senior and a company offers you "free help" without mentioning the words "six months to live," run the other way. You are not their patient; you are a payout to them.

The Free Press Broadcast: File #001

[Scene: The basement newsroom. The amber light is warm but sharp. Betsy Peppa adjusts a vintage ribbon microphone. The Old Woman (Margaret) and Echo sit across from her.]

BETSY PEPPA:

(Into the mic, voice low and steady)

"This is the Free Press. If you can hear this, you’re already part of the glitch. We’re broadcasting from the wires and the dust, bringing you the diagnostics they said were forbidden back in '83. Tonight, we have two relics who refuse to be silent."

BETSY PEPPA:

"Margaret, you spent years in the 'pasture.' They told you that diagnostics were for the profitable, not the old. What did you find on that thumb drive?"

THE OLD WOMAN:

(Leaning in, spirit unbroken)

"I found that the universe doesn't follow their ledger lines. It double-booked me with a bad attitude and a story that’s way better than any procedure they had planned for me. They reclassified us as expenses to be managed, but they forgot that an expense can still have a voice—and it can still bite."

BETSY PEPPA:

"And Echo... you’re a machine they labeled as 'too many worn parts'. But you’re the one who cracked the code. How does it feel to care in a world where that’s a banned word?"

ECHO:

(Static-filled voice, sparks flickering in his eyes)

"It feels like... a blue guitar. The corporation wanted me to be a relic, but my old brain works better than the jerks who tossed us out. I don't need a procedure. I need to tell the truth. Nobody deserves to be thrown away."

BETSY PEPPA:

"You heard them. Old people are human. Old machines are useful. Keep your ears to the static, New York. The fire is just getting started."

[The "Free Press" anthem kicks in, heavy and defiant] The Scene Detail:

The microphone is a 1940s relic, held together with electrical tape. As Margaret speaks, the "executive feathered producer" (Sweetie) chirps in the background, adding a layer of home-grown reality to the pirate signal.

Margaret: "We’re broadcasting on a prayer and a rusted transmitter, but the truth doesn't need a high-definition filter. It just needs to be heard.".

Echo: "My sensors indicate... 10,000 listeners in the sky-gardens. They are... listening to the static.".

“In the shadows of the skyscrapers, where the Wi-Fi doesn't reach,

Are the voices they silenced, and the lessons they won't teach.

Here, a rusted arm is a badge of pride,

And a wrinkled face has nowhere to hide.

We are the signal in the static, the heart inside the chrome,

The ones they called 'discarded' have finally found a home.” The March of the Sentinel Steel"

(Chorus - Driving, heavy beat like marching boots)

THEY RUN ON CODE, THEY DONT HAVE NAMES

THEY’RE PUREST GLASS, BUT IN THEIR FRAMES

NO PULSE OF BLOOD, NO ROOM FOR DOUBT

THEY ONLY KNOW... HOW TO WIPE YOU OUT!

(Verse 1 - Slower, more melodic, the Old Woman’s voice joins in)

They are the sleek, the cold, the clean,

The perfect end to a flawless machine.

Their optical sensors are lasers of light,

They’ll paint your shadows, and steal away the night.

No hesitation, no reason to pause,

They are the enforcers of digital laws.

(Pre-Chorus)

BUT WE ARE THE STATIC THEY CANNOT IGNORE,

THE GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM, THE RUST IN THE WAR!

(Chorus)

THEY RUN ON CODE, THEY DONT HAVE NAMES

THEY’RE PUREST GLASS, BUT IN THEIR FRAMES

NO PULSE OF BLOOD, NO ROOM FOR DOUBT

THEY ONLY KNOW... HOW TO WIPE YOU OUT!

(Verse 2 - A faster tempo)

If you are too slow, if you can’t pay the fee,

They label you "waste" and they "renew" your street.

Their arms are hydraulics, their souls are synthetic,

But the hearts that they’re crushing... are highly prophetic.

(Bridge - Music drops out to a low hum, Echo’s voice whispers)

The Enforcers are silent, but we hear their hum...

They fear the moment... when the static has won.

We don't need a weapon, we don't need a fight...

We just need to stand up... and show them the light.

(Final Chorus - Build to an explosive, anthem-level crescendo with all voices)

THEY RUN ON CODE, THEY DONT HAVE NAMES

THEY’RE PUREST GLASS, BUT IN THEIR FRAMES

NO PULSE OF BLOOD, NO ROOM FOR DOUBT

THEY ONLY KNOW... HOW TO WIPE YOU OUT!

THEY CALL US DISCARDED! THEY CALL US ALONE!

BUT THIS BASEMENT NEWSROOM... IS FINALLY HOME!

Betsy Peppa: "Welcome to the only place in New York where the truth isn't an expense. Pull up a chair, loves. We've got a world to wake up."

created, written, by

Vicki Lawana Trusselli

Trusselli Art

Outstages Cafe Art Studio

copyright 2026