Hochul Fires Back at Dr. Oz Over Medicaid Fraud Claims

Governor Kathy Hochul took exception to Dr. Oz claiming that Chinese gangs run state-administered Medicaid adult day care centers in New YorkSpeaking at the Make America Healthy Again summit in Washington Tuesday, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz detailed the organized criminal schemes he claims snatch up billions in taxpayer dollars nationwide each year.“There are many grifters in there that would rather do home health care than sell drugs, but the real problems are organized criminal syndicates that are multi-national in scope,” Mr. Oz said. “So the Chinese mafia runs social adult daycare in New York, they take a billion dollars a year out of that program and fund human trafficking on the East Coast.”Ms. Hochul fired back on Wednesday, charging that the Trump administration’s fraud investigations are really a cover for efforts to kick beneficiaries off of government-funded programs like Medicaid.“Make no mistake, this is just another attempt by Washington Republicans to strip vulnerable New Yorkers of critical resources they depend on,” Ms. Hochul’s spokeswoman Nicolette Simmonds told The Sun. “New York is committed to administering our Medicaid program in compliance with all federal rules and any suggestion otherwise is patently false.”It’s not the first time Ms. Hochul and Dr. Oz have clashed over the state’s Medicaid program.Earlier this year, Dr. Oz claimed that personal care services were being offered to nearly 75 percent of the state’s Medicaid recipients, though the real number was much lower. Dr. Oz’s office admitted the error but said it remained concerned about personal care costs and employment of personal care workers in New York.“Governor Hochul has been clear that New York has zero tolerance for waste, fraud and abuse and will continue her efforts to root out bad actors, protect taxpayer dollars, and safeguard the critical programs that New Yorkers rely on,” Ms. Simmonds said.In June, federal investigators descended on Brooklyn, where they alleged those behind the APNA Adult Daycare and Ashiana Social Adult Daycare were running a large-scale Medicaid kickback and false-billing scheme.Brooklyn Community Board 13 member Pervez Siddiqui was arrested in connection with the scheme that allegedly bilked the government out of $38 million. The billing staff involved in the scheme were located in Pakistan, but there so far have not been official public allegations against Chinese criminal gangs. “The way you deal with these problems sometimes, unfortunately, when the village gets so polluted you can’t fix things, you burn it down,” Dr. Oz said.Dr. Oz acknowledged there had been some pushback on the administration’s anti-fraud efforts, but largely dismissed it. “It’s loud, it’s hurtful, people are upset about it, but the average American says ‘I need the trust that tax dollars are used correctly, or else it compromises these programs,” Dr. Oz said.In late June, the Justice Department announced a national wide crackdown on healthcare fraud — 90 of them doctors.“In the West Coast we got Russian mafia running hospice,” Dr. Oz said Tuesday.In Florida, Dr. Oz said, the Cuban government works in conjunction with organized crime elements to defraud Medicare on medical equipment.During the panel, Dr. Oz’s deputy, Dan Brillman, said he had instructed all 50 states they needed to be more aggressive in tightening eligibility“Level up everyone,” Mr. Dan Brillman said he instructed the states.The Trump administration has made a very public effort to reassure taxpayers it is determined to root out fraud and waste in government. The idea of doing so remains popular across party lines. Vice President JD Vance has been named to lead and coordinate administration-wide efforts to identify areas where fraud is ongoing and recover the money for taxpayers.“Fraud doesn’t just steal your money, it steals your health, it steals your life and it steals our trust,” Dr. Oz said.

Hochul Fires Back at Dr. Oz Over Medicaid Fraud Claims

Hochul Fires Back at Dr. Oz Over Medicaid Fraud Claims

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