AZ has recovered just 5% of taxpayer dollars lost in Medicaid fraud scheme

Support independent, nonprofit Arizona journalism Arizona has recovered just 5% of taxpayer dollars lost in $2.5 billion Medicaid fraud scheme Two years after Arizona officials revealed they’d uncovered a $2.5 billion Medicaid fraud scheme that targeted Native Americans seeking addiction treatment, the state has recouped just a fraction of the taxpayer funds. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which is leading the criminal investigation, has so far indicted more than 100 individuals and recovered $125 million — or only 5% of what the state estimates it lost to bad actors. “It's hard, because what happens is these criminals … get the money, they buy lavish homes, they buy multiple expensive cars, they hide the money offshore,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a May 1 press conference. "They spend the money in ways that (are) unrecoverable.” The U.S. Department of Justice has also indicted several individuals and is conducting parallel investigations into the fraudulent billing schemes. But most of the stolen funds are likely gone for good. For months, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) did not give AZCIR reporter Jasmine Demers clear answers about the status of its investigation into improper payments, or how much it could ultimately owe the federal government, which reimbursed 70% to 76% of Arizona’s Medicaid costs between 2019 and 2023. Ultimately, the agency said it could take many years to fully unravel the crisis. READ THE FULL STORY This story about Arizona’s response to Medicaid fraud was produced by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, an independent nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide investigative reporting, and ProPublica, a national nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.

DONATE TODAY Support independent, nonprofit Arizona journalism