Dr. Oz scanned the main room at Evergreen Adult Day Care in Flushing, Queens, on Tuesday and reached his own head count. “So I look at maybe 25 people in the whole space now,” he said.
A floor manager had just given him different figures.
She told Oz, who administers the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that about 200 seniors attend on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and about 150 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Fox News Digital, which followed Oz through the visit, could not tell whether those numbers covered a full day or the number present at one time.
The manager disputed his estimate. She said some seniors were in classes, while others had left for shopping, pharmacy visits or medical appointments.
“The numbers don’t seem to add up,” Oz responded.
The exchange was one piece of a citywide push. CMS officials visited more than 80 providers and delivered letters flagging billing concerns.
Oz carried letters to Evergreen and to Kent Senior Care, also in Flushing, with senior federal health officials at his side.
Kent came first. Oz arrived around 8:30 a.m. and handed the director a federal letter stating that officials were examining the center’s billing practices.
“The bills are much higher than they should be,” Oz told him. “The billing is for more people. It doesn’t look very crowded here.”
The director said more seniors would arrive as the morning progressed. Fox News Digital reported that a posted occupancy sign listed a maximum of 70 people.
“The bills we’re getting are as though it’s completely full all the time,” Oz said.
The director said participants signed attendance sheets and that Kent charged only for those who attended.
Oz cited records reflecting five-day-a-week attendance, while the director said many seniors came two or three days.
The director said billing matched attendance and that some participants came more often.
“You’re getting this letter from the U.S. Government because we don’t believe you,” Oz replied.
Fox News Digital reported seeing several seniors enter Kent without immediately signing attendance sheets. Staff told those arriving later to sign in.
“People were just walking in there without signing anything,” Oz said. “And then after I showed up and he saw what we were doing with my team, he started collecting these documents to be signed.”
Wheelchair charges drew Oz’s attention next.
“I don’t see any wheelchairs here,” he told the director. Fox News Digital reported seeing seniors with walking aids but no one using a wheelchair during the visit.
Another official pointed to charges for specialized wheelchair transportation and asked whether the services were delivered and which company billed for them.
The director said some participants have difficulty getting around, including people recovering from strokes, and that the center keeps wheelchairs available.
He suggested workers may have copied information from earlier files without updating billing codes tied to wheelchair use.
“Probably he just copy and pasted,” the director said.
Oz then approached the mahjong tables inside Kent and asked the director whether taxpayers should fund the game.
The director said it helps seniors socialize, exercise their fingers and improve their memory, including participants with cognitive difficulties.
“It’s free for them, not free for the taxpayers,” Oz responded. “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?”
At Evergreen, the wheelchair question surfaced again.
Oz asked the floor manager about participants who use wheelchairs. She first indicated there were none, then acknowledged a small number did.
“But you said there weren’t any, were you?” Oz asked.
Oz also examined Evergreen’s attendance books.
Fox News Digital reported seeing sign-in sheets with apparent name entries for Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, dates that had not yet occurred.
Oz said the books contained “fraud.” The outlet could not immediately establish whether the entries were completed attendance records or advance schedules.
Afterward, Oz summarized his view for the outlet. “The whole experience was suspicious,” he said.
“We know from the billing here that there’s no way this business is running in the way that they claim to be running without something being wrong,” Oz said. “Is it an innocent mistake? A hundred times in a row, I don’t think so.”
Oz said the wider crackdown involves the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the NYPD and other agencies.
He said authorities are making arrests, executing search warrants and working to block certain operators from billing Medicaid.
Fox News Digital did not independently witness those actions at either facility.
He said federal authorities have identified substantial billing increases across the industry and claimed annual spending on the programs had approached $1 billion.
Oz also alleged that organized criminal networks pay seniors to participate while billing the government for services never provided.
He claimed individuals connected to the “Chinese mafia” offered some seniors between $1,000 and $1,200 to join fraudulent billing arrangements.
He did not identify a specific criminal organization or provide supporting evidence during the interview.
He further alleged that fraudulent Medicaid proceeds supported money laundering and human trafficking.
Fox News Digital had not independently verified those alleged connections or established any link to Kent or Evergreen.
Social adult day care programs can provide activities, supervision, meals and social support to eligible seniors.
Medicaid payment depends on the applicable rules, participants’ eligibility and documentation of the services delivered.
