Medicaid-rich adult daycares in Flushing gave Governor Hochul $55,000 while billing billions

Governor Kathy Hochul accepted $55,000 in contributions from Flushing social adult daycares that have claimed at least $32 million from Medicaid, with most of the money traced to two owners.

Records reveal that Governor Kathy Hochul received $55,000 in campaign donations from social adult daycare centers in Flushing, Queens, many of which were virtually empty during a recent investigation. The bulk of the contributions can be linked to Baoli Zhang and Jiemin Shang, owners of the district’s biggest daycare chains, which have billed Medicaid for at least $32 million since 2018 on behalf of tens of thousands of patients.

Zhang gave $10,000 personally and $5,000 through Bao Kang Adult Day Care, while Shang’s Livingwell Day Care and Finest Adult Day Care each contributed $5,000 in 2022, the same year Livingwell billed $5.8 million to Medicaid. Federal figures confirm rapid growth in Medicaid claims, with Livingwell’s billing climbing to $8.05 million by 2024 and Bao Kang’s to $7.22 million. The nine daycares that donated over $5,000 to Hochul’s 2022 campaign accounted for $49 million in Medicaid billing that year.

Both owners also hold leadership roles in the Asian American Adult Daycare Association, though they have not been formally accused of wrongdoing. Local politicians, including Grace Meng and John Liu, have accepted smaller donations from Zhang and praised his community standing.