CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz walked into Evergreen, an adult daycare in Queens, New York, and it took him about a minute to find the proof. “Look at this,” Oz said, holding up the sign-in sheets. “This is tomorrow, and this is Friday, and someone has already signed in. This is fraud. This is a war on fraud, the likes of which you have never seen.”
The building was nearly empty. “I’m struck by how few people are here,” Oz said. “If you’re billing millions and millions of dollars to the federal taxpayer, this place should be packed.” A staffer told him some members “went to shop.”
Oz put the question to the floor manager directly. “You agree this is lying?” he asked. “Yes,” she said. “This is fraud,” Oz replied. When she said people sometimes sign without staff, Oz answered: “Yeah, it’s your job to stop that.”
“Within 60 seconds of wandering in, you’ll end up by a couple major fraudulent areas,” Oz said afterward. “There’s not enough people in that building to justify their massive bills. And then they’re predating sheets. They’re lying and saying that they’re actually getting care when they’re not there.” It is theft, he said, “which is inexcusable” and “should never have been allowed to exist.”
CMS put it plainly: “When taxpayer money is stolen, there is no ‘but’ that excuses it. Fraudulent social adult daycares are being held accountable and shut down.” Under President Trump, the people stealing from Medicare and Medicaid are finally being caught.
