Flushing has become the epicenter of a massive Medicaid billing operation. A one-mile radius in this Queens neighborhood currently hosts 77 Social Adult Daycares. These private businesses collect over 14 percent of all state daycare spending, totaling more than $100 million annually.
Recent site visits by reporters found many of these facilities completely empty during business hours. Despite official billing records claiming thousands of unique patients, storefronts on Northern Boulevard and Blossom Avenue remain dark. Staff at these locations often refuse to answer basic questions, and some have threatened to call the police when asked about their high billing volumes.
Federal data reveals staggering figures for individual centers. Facilities such as Sunrise Senior Service and Evergreen Adult Day Care have billed tens of millions of dollars to Medicaid over the last six years. While these centers are meant to provide nursing-level care for individuals with chronic illnesses or physical disabilities, they frequently appear indistinguishable from standard senior centers where healthy participants play games or eat lunch.
Local pharmacists describe a system driven by kickbacks. Seniors are allegedly recruited to attend these centers in exchange for monthly cash payments, while the facilities bill Medicaid thousands of dollars per patient. This model has sparked intense scrutiny from federal officials. Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently stated that the lack of proper state oversight has allowed these centers to function as cash cows for criminal activity.
State officials point to a lack of public resources in the area as a potential cause for the rise of these private entities. However, the sheer volume of billing concentrated in a small geographic area has led to multiple investigations. As federal authorities continue to monitor the program, the scale of the financial drain remains one of the largest challenges for the state healthcare budget.