Authorities hit more than 80 Big Apple senior centers — including two who got a visit from Dr. Mehmet Oz himself — warning that they suspect Medicaid fraud scams in a massive crackdown targeting New York and nine other states.
The federal and state sweep Tuesday included raids on Brooklyn and Queens centers, where authorities reported potentially shady billing for games of mahjong, phony wheelchair transport and nonexistent clients, according to a report.
“The whole experience was suspicious,” Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Fox News Digital, which accompanied him and senior federal health officials at Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care in Flushing.
Dr. Mehmet Oz confronted staff at two Queens senior care centers over suspected Medicaid fraud. Fox News Digital
“We know from the billing here that there’s no way this business is running in the way that they can claim to be running without something being wrong,” he said.
“Is it an innocent mistake? A hundred times in a row? I don’t think so.”
The widespread crackdown — which also included raids on at least two Brooklyn adult day cares, The Post reported — was the latest action by local, state and federal authorities to beef up oversight of such programs.
Adult day care centers are designed to provide seniors with structured activities, including meals, recreation and social support, with Medicaid reimbursements funding eligible programs.
But federal authorities have raised questions about billing practices in New York and other states.
Oz has even suggested that scammers connected to the “Chinese mafia” may be paying seniors $1,000 to $1,200 to take part in a phony billing scheme, but did not provide specifics.
The widespread Tuesday raids involved several agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the NYPD.
Oz grilled the directors at the Flushing facilities, handing out letters alerting staff that their billing practices were under scrutiny by the feds, according to Fox Digital.
“The bills are much higher than they should be,” Oz told the director of Kent Senior Care. “The billing is for more people. It doesn’t look very crowded here.”
Oz delivered warning letters to Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care in Flushing as part of a fraud crackdown. Fox News Digital
Oz challenged employees over questionable billing records and how taxpayer dollars were being spent. Fox News Digital
The facility has a capacity of 70, and the director claimed that more clients would flood in later in the day — but Oz was skeptical.
“The bills we’re getting are as though it’s completely full all the time,” he said. “You’re getting this letter from the US government because we don’t believe you.”
Oz also questioned why the center’s billing records appeared to reflect seniors attending five days a week when the director acknowledged that many typically attended only two or three days.
He quizzed the staff over billing for transportation for wheelchair-bound seniors, telling the director, “I don’t see any wheelchairs here.”
Oz was also surprised to find several mahjong tables set up — allegedly part of the tax-funded recreational activities offered to seniors.
“Should the American taxpayers be paying so folks can play mahjong?” he asked.
“It’s free for them, not free for the taxpayers. Is that what our federal tax dollars for Medicaid is supposed to go to? Or is it life-saving heart surgery? Or, you know, new therapies for cancer.”
The director said mahjong helps seniors exercise their fingers, socialize and improve their memory, particularly those with cognitive difficulties.
Oz raised similar questions about attendance and billing practices at the second facility, Evergreen Adult Day Care.
He told Fox Digital that the alleged fraud spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, and criticized the Biden administration for letting it happen.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has targeted the state’s $116 billion Medicaid program since taking office in 2021, and claims to have saved taxpayers some $15 billion by cracking down on fraud.
The Trump administration, however, sued Hochul and state health officials in June over alleged fraudulent billing practices within the initiative, dubbed the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program.
Last month, a House committee accused the state of flouting federal law by failing to identify “risk levels” of Medicaid service providers that could be defrauding taxpayers.
Hochul acknowledged the joint crackdown Tuesday, calling it part of a “massive effort to combat fraud and abuse” — and confirming that state officials had joined federal and local law enforcement in targeting suspected Medicaid fraud at social adult day care programs.
“The bills are much higher than they should be,” he told one director. Fox News Digital
Oz alleged that people he linked to the “Chinese mafia” paid seniors $1,000 to $1,200 to participate in fraudulent billing schemes. Fox News Digital
Kent Senior Care declined comment to Fox Digital on Tuesday, and Evergreen Adult Day Care did not reply to a request for comment.
Oz said the enforcement visits will continue in the state.
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