By Hank Russell
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman called for an investigation into Governor Kathy Hochul’s handling of New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP). He said the rampant fraud, abuse, and mismanagement turned this program into a taxpayer-funded cash machine for scammers and middlemen.
The state Health Department’s website describes CDPAP as “a New York State Medicaid program that allows Medicaid members who are eligible for home care services to choose and hire their own personal caregiver, or ‘personal assistant.’ This can include a friend or family member, as long as they are not the Medicaid member’s spouse, their designated representative or the parent of a CDPAP consumer under the age of 21.
“CDPAP provides services to chronically ill or physically disabled individuals who have a medical need for help with daily activities or who require skilled nursing services,” the website says. “The CDPAP services provided by a personal assistant can include any of the services normally provided by a personal care aide (home attendant), home health aide, or nurse.”
According to Blakeman, CDPAP was originally intended to help seniors receive care at home rather than in nursing homes, but the program has been hijacked by fraud and abuse under Hochul, now costing taxpayers more than $12 billion a year. That’s up from $2.5 billion in 2019.
“New York taxpayers are being robbed in broad daylight,” Blakeman said. “On Governor Hochul’s watch, a program meant to help seniors has become a magnet for fraud and abuse, hemorrhaging billions with no accountability. This is exactly why taxes are soaring and families are being priced out of New York, and Kathy Hochul is squarely to blame.”
Some of the recent cases Blakeman cited:
- A Manhattan man fraudulently collected $348,000 by claiming family members were caring for his mother — who was living in Bangladesh the entire time.
- Brooklyn adult daycare operator Zakia Khan pleaded guilty to a $68 million Medicaid fraud scheme involving kickbacks and phony billing.
- Healthcare executive Marianna Levin was sentenced to prison for stealing $100 million through fraudulent home health care claims.
- Other schemes have siphoned tens of millions more from taxpayers, with authorities identifying at least $1.2 billion in fraud and waste tied to CDPAP.
A former New York Medicaid fraud prosecutor with nearly three decades of experience warned that the situation dwarfs other high-profile welfare scandals. “If you think Minnesota is a big deal, multiply that by 10,” he said, referencing a similar scandal in Minnesota, in which people defrauded the state’s government assistance program out of billions of taxpayer dollars.
CDPAP had been mired in controversy for nearly a year. As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, in May, Assemblyman Keith Brown (R,C-Northport) called for the delay in the implementation of changes to CDPAP back to July 1, 2025. Despite these efforts, Brown said, CDPAP continues to experience hurdle after hurdle in fully implementing necessary changes, including turning the administration of the program over to a single company, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL).
This transition to PPL has created turmoil for the more than 250,000 consumers in New York state who have long-term medical needs and more than 200,000 home care aides employed by CDPAP, according to the assemblyman. Brown asserted that consumers have not been given enough time to register to PPL to avoid lapses in care, and home care aides are not receiving complete paychecks on time due to this rushed transition, LILP previously reported.
And it is not just this time there was something suspicious about the program. The Empire Center reported that the state Health Department has, for the third time, delayed the release of emails related to the $1 billion Medicaid contract awarded to PPL to manage the program. The agency said it needs more time fo review and redact the emails, which will probably be released no longer than February 20.
Despite repeated warnings and the State Department of Health acknowledging the program has contributed to a “fiscal crisis,” Blakeman said, spending on this program has increased under Hochul. “This is corruption, plain and simple,” he said. “Every dollar wasted here is a dollar stolen from real patients, from seniors who truly need care, and from taxpayers who are already being crushed by the highest taxes in America.”
Blakeman called for:
- A full forensic audit of CDPAP spending
- Immediate tightening of eligibility and verification requirements
- Criminal referrals where fraud is identified
- Legislative action to end middleman abuse and restore fiscal discipline
“New Yorkers deserve a Medicaid system that helps the vulnerable — not one that enriches criminals and political insiders,” Blakeman said. “As governor, I will protect taxpayers, restore integrity, and end this culture of waste once and for all.”
LILP reached out to Hochul’s office and the Health Department. The governor’s office referred LILP to her campaign office.
Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said the governor is working to fix the program. “Governor Hochul has taken action to do away with the status quo and reform a broken system to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, protecting home care for New Yorkers who need it and saving New Yorkers money in the process.”