Sen. Tester: Arizona Medicaid scam targets tribal members in Montana, leaving them stranded with no way home
PHOENIX - U.S. Senator Jon Tester of Montana is calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for help, claiming tribal members in Montana are being victimized by a widespread Medicaid scam in Arizona. The Democratic senator sent a letter to Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Administrator of CMS on July 19, voicing his concern. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D, Montana)
"By offering promises of treatment in exchange for changing their residency in Arizona, these fraudulent rehab centers have reportedly recruited Montanans and left them without care and stranded in Arizona," wrote Tester.
The letter of "deep concern" comes after FOX 10 reported on the story of Josh Racine, a member of Blackfeet Nation in Montana, who was found homeless in Phoenix in June after being flown out to Arizona by a treatment facility in the Valley. Racine’s sister Laura McGee told FOX 10 she reported her brother missing a little more than two months after he left home.
Fallout of sober living crisis on Phoenix streets
A sober living Medicaid scheme victimizes as many as 8,000 tribal members, leaving many displaced as fake rehab centers shut down. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum went on a ride-along with Navajo Nation Police for "Operation Rainbow Bridge" to confront the crisis head on.
In Tester’s letter, he laid blame Arizona’s Medicaid agency, AHCCCS [Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System], for allowing fraud to "plague Arizona’s Tribal Communities for so long that it spread to other states."
In May, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and state leaders announced a crackdown on illegitimate facilities that capitalize on vulnerable Native Americans in need, to get paid off their Medicaid benefits. The sober living scheme has defrauded the state for at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
FOX 10's investigative series "Preying on a People" shows you how the sober living scheme takes advantage of tribal members and other vulnerable groups of people battling addiction, keeping them housed and in some cases, intoxicated and under the influence of drugs rather than providing actual therapy services.
Preying on a People: Trafficking, health care fraud victimizing Native Americans
The series takes a deep look at the FBI's investigation in claims of Native Americans in several states, including Arizona, who are being targeted in sober-living schemes. These people are looking to get clean and are said to be picked up by unsuspecting vans and are taken to homes where some claim drugs and alcohol are often offered. This, reportedly, is to get the money from Indian health services and other government agencies.
Tester asked CMS for assistance in getting victims from Montana back home, so they can receive proper treatment.
"Finally, I ask the agency to collaborate in facilitating the necessary resources and efforts to warn Tribes nationwide about this deceitful scam," said Tester.
Read Senator Tester’s full letter:
In June, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren signed a declaration for a public health state of emergency to increase funding for Operation Rainbow Bridge. The operation is purposed to help up to 8,000 Native Americans impacted by the exploitation of fraudulent behavioral health outpatient treatment centers.
We reached out to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for comment.
For more information on resources for those affected, call 2-1-1 and press 7. If you suspect Medicaid fraud by a provider, click here to submit a complaint to AHCCCS.
UPDATE from a CMS spokesperson:
"CMS takes allegations of Medicaid fraud and issues of patient welfare extremely seriously. Our first priority is to the people served by our programs, and CMS has been in close contact with the state Medicaid program to identify resources to support those affected. CMS has also suggested changes the state can make to prevent this type of fraud in the future. CMS has conducted analyses to determine if there is any impact on Medicare and other states’ Medicaid programs. These analysis found minimal exposure to Medicare and other states Medicaid programs. The agency has also been in contact with the Indian Health Service (IHS) to support their providers’ ongoing response to affected American Indian and Alaska Native beneficiaries. CMS will continue to work closely with the state and IHS as this issue evolves."
FOX 10 has also learned that Arizona notified CMS of allegations of misused Medicaid funds on April 23, as well as risks to people's health and safety due to providers billing Medicaid for substance-abuse and behavioral health disorder treatment. CMS is working closely with AHCCCS as it continues to investigate fraud and abuse allegations.