In one NYC neighborhood, dozens of adult daycares bill millions to taxpayers. Now the feds have questions.

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July 1, 2026 / 5:25 PM EDT

/ CBS News

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Dozens of Medicaid-funded social adult daycare centers are packed into one New York City neighborhood, a CBS News data analysis has found. The proliferation of the facilities has caught the attention of federal authorities, who confirmed they are investigating across New York whether the rapid spread of centers catering to seniors is indicative of fraud."[It] begs the question: How many social adult daycare centers do you need?" Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told CBS News.Social daycare facilities offer meals, personal care, social activities and other assistance to seniors and people with disabilities. Those services are then billed to the state government and covered by federal and state tax dollars. The costs have been rising — especially in New York state, a CBS News data analysis found. Medicaid paid adult daycare providers $3.35 billion nationwide in 2024, and 17% of that money went to the 375 facilities across New York state — more than any other state. New York spending on these adult daycares ballooned in recent years, with the bill to taxpayers nearly quadrupling from 2018 to 2024. Those numbers have not gone unnoticed. Investigations are underway into some social adult daycare centers across New York with potential federal action against them anticipated, CBS News has learned. The epicenter of the spike in spending is the bustling neighborhood of Flushing, Queens, the densest cluster of social adult daycare facilities in the country: 64 within a one-mile radius, according to a CBS News analysis of Medicaid data.