Flushing Medicaid Alarm: Nearly $733 Million Billed by Queens Social Adult Day-Care Centers

A New York Post investigation has raised fresh questions about Medicaid oversight in Flushing, Queens, where 77 social adult day-care centers reportedly billed approximately $733 million between 2018 and 2024. Visits to several high-billing facilities found locked doors, empty rooms, or few visible patients—though none of the highlighted centers has been accused of wrongdoing.

Key takeaways

• Flushing’s social adult day-care centers reportedly accounted for about 14% of New York’s statewide spending in the category.

• Several facilities billed tens of millions of dollars while reporting unusually large patient totals.

• Alleged kickbacks may have included cash or benefits offered to Medicaid recipients.

• A state comptroller review identified more than $285 million in questionable payments.

• Legitimate providers may face increased scrutiny and stronger documentation requirements.

Why Flushing’s numbers are drawing scrutiny

Social adult day-care centers, or SADCs, are intended to serve adults with chronic illness, disabilities, or functional limitations requiring a nursing-home level of care. They are different from ordinary senior centers, which generally provide meals, activities, and social services without Medicaid billing.

According to federal and city data cited in the investigation, 77 SADCs within roughly a one-mile area of Flushing billed more than $100 million annually. Individual facilities reportedly billed between $22 million and $45 million during the six-year period, with patient counts ranging from about 25,800 to 57,500.

Empty facilities and alleged kickback practices

Reporters visiting several centers described dimly lit or empty rooms. At Livingwell Day Care, records reportedly showed $27 million in Medicaid billing and more than 26,500 patients. Bao Kang was associated with approximately $32 million in billing and 43,900 patients. Staff at some locations declined to answer questions or asked journalists to leave.

The investigation also described an alleged arrangement in which seniors receive $500 to $1,000 monthly while a facility bills Medicaid as much as $3,000 per patient. Such payments, if made in exchange for enrollment or services, could violate federal and state anti-kickback laws.

These reports do not establish that every center involved fraudulent billing. However, unusually high patient counts, limited visible activity, and large reimbursements can prompt audits, subpoenas, and requests for supporting records.

Oversight concerns and criminal cases

A 2026 New York comptroller review reportedly examined approximately $2.4 billion in SADC spending from January 2019 through October 2024. Auditors flagged more than $285 million in payments to providers that had been terminated from at least one managed-care network, including about $28.6 million involving fraud, waste, abuse, integrity, or quality concerns.

Separately, federal prosecutors charged two Flushing men in February 2026 over an alleged $120 million Medicaid scheme involving pharmacies and SADCs. The defendants are presumed innocent. A separate Brooklyn case involved an operator who admitted billing Medicaid for services recipients allegedly did not receive.

What providers should take from the investigation

For legitimate home health, hospice, home care, and wound care businesses, the reporting underscores the importance of accurate billing and defensible documentation. Providers should reconcile census data to claims, verify eligibility and authorizations, document services contemporaneously, segregate financial duties, and investigate unusual referral or payment patterns.

Soriaga and Associates helps Chicagoland healthcare operators strengthen these processes through bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, cost report filing, consulting, and fractional CFO services. While the Flushing investigation concerns New York SADCs, its broader lesson applies nationally: reliable accounting records and disciplined compliance controls are essential when public funds are involved.

The broader policy question

New York officials disagree about whether the concentration of SADCs reflects fraud, inadequate senior services, or both. State Sen. John Liu said Flushing’s limited conventional senior-center resources may have contributed to the growth of Medicaid-funded facilities. Federal officials have criticized the state for insufficient oversight.

The investigation is likely to intensify calls for tighter enrollment verification, stronger provider screening, and recovery of improper payments. For compliant operators, clear records and transparent financial reporting may become as important as patient care itself.

• Inside New York's medical fraud capital where often empty senior centers bill Medicaid $100M-a-year for patients, New York Post.

• New York Medicaid Fraud Scandal: Empty Queens Day-Care…, inkl.