Dr. Oz confronts NYC senior care centers over suspected Medicaid fraud as 80-plus facilities put on notice
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facilities → confront → notice
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz confronted employees at two New York City senior care centers over suspected Medicaid fraud, challenging their billing practices as Fox News Digital got an exclusive look at the crackdown in action.
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Digital → confront → action
Oz, accompanied by senior federal health officials, delivered warning letters to Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care in Flushing, Queens, during a broader fraud crackdown that involved the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the NYPD and other agencies.
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that → accompany → General
The letters notified the facilities that their billing practices had raised concerns among federal authorities.
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practices → notify → authorities
The two visits by Oz were part of a broader crackdown in which CMS officials conducted more than 80 visits and delivered warning letters to providers across New York City on Tuesday.
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officials → conduct → Tuesday
Fox News Digital accompanied Oz as he pressed employees about questionable billing records and challenged their explanations for how taxpayer dollars were being spent.
“The whole experience was suspicious,” Oz told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview following the visits.
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Oz → accompany → visits
Oz said federal authorities were conducting a broader crackdown that included arrests, search warrants and efforts to stop certain operators from billing Medicaid, although Fox News Digital did not independently witness those enforcement actions at either Queens facility.
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Digital → say → facility
Kent Senior Care declined comment during a phone call with Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
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Care → decline → Tuesday
Evergreen Adult Day Care did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Care → respond → comment
Oz questions senior center director: ‘We don’t believe you’
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We → question → you
The first stop came around 8:30 a.m. at Kent Senior Care, where Oz entered the facility and personally handed its director a letter from the federal government notifying the business that its billing practices were under scrutiny.
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practices → come → scrutiny
“The bills are much higher than they should be,” Oz told the director.
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Oz → tell → director
It doesn’t look very crowded here.”
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It → look → ?
The director pushed back during the exchange, explaining that it was still early and additional seniors would arrive later in the morning, as Oz questioned whether the facility’s Medicaid billing records accurately reflected its actual attendance.
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records → push → attendance
The occupancy of the space was 70 persons, according to an observe posted maximum occupancy sign on the wall.
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occupancy → accord → wall
“The bills we’re getting are as though it’s completely full all the time,” Oz said.
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Oz → get → ?
The director maintained that the facility billed only for seniors who actually attended, and that it required participants to sign attendance sheets.
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it → maintain → sheets
“You’re getting this letter from the US Government because we don’t believe you,” he told the director.
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he → get → director
During the exchange, Oz also questioned why the center’s billing records appeared to reflect seniors attending five days a week when the director acknowledged that many participants typically attended only two or three days.
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participants → question → days
The director insisted the facility billed for actual attendance and said some seniors attended more frequently than others.
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seniors → insist → others
The confrontation intensified when Oz and other federal officials raised questions about specialized transportation services billed for seniors using wheelchairs.
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Oz → intensify → wheelchairs
“I don’t see any wheelchairs here,” Oz told the director.
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Oz → see → director
Fox News Digital observed seniors inside the facility, including individuals using walking aids, but did not see anyone using a wheelchair during the visit.
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anyone → observe → visit
Another official said billing records included charges for specialized wheelchair transportation, raising questions about whether the services had been provided and which company was responsible for submitting the charges.
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company → say → charges
The director said some seniors had mobility difficulties, including those recovering from strokes, and that the facility had wheelchairs available.
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wheelchairs → say → strokes
He also said that workers could have copied information from previous files instead of properly updating the billing codes as it applied to wheelchair use.
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it → say → use
“Probably he just copy and pasted,” the director said.
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director → copy → ?
During the visit, Oz walked over to several mahjong tables set up inside the facility, questioning whether taxpayer dollars were being properly spent on the recreational activities offered through the Medicaid-funded program.
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dollars → walk → program
“Should the American taxpayers be paying so folks can play mahjong?” Oz asked the director.
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Oz → pay → mahjong
The director defended the activity, explaining that mahjong helps seniors exercise their fingers, socialize and improve their memory, particularly those experiencing cognitive difficulties.
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seniors → defend → difficulties
“It’s free for them, not free for the taxpayers,” Oz responded.
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Oz → respond → taxpayers
“Is that what our federal tax dollars for Medicaid is supposed to go to?
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dollars → suppose → Medicaid
Or is it life-saving heart surgery?
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it → save → ?
Or, you know, new therapies for cancer?”
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you → know → cancer
Oz raises concerns over seniors entering without signing in
Oz raised additional concerns about the facility’s attendance records after observing seniors entering without signing in, despite the director’s insistence that participants were required to document their attendance.
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participants → raise → attendance
“People were just walking in there without signing anything,” Oz said.
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Oz → walk → anything
“And then after I showed up and he saw what we were doing with my team, he started collecting these documents to be signed.”
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he → show → documents
Oz said the apparent inconsistencies raised further questions about whether the facility’s attendance records accurately reflected the services being billed to Medicaid.
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records → say → Medicaid
Fox News Digital also witnessed several seniors enter Kent Senior Care without immediately signing attendance sheets.
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seniors → witness → sheets
Additional seniors who arrived later were instructed to sign in.
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who → arrive → ?
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
