Hundreds of Native Americans who have been targeted by Phoenix-area scammers as the billing schemes often left clients homeless and in some cases financed lavish lifestyles for the fraudulent providers, authorities have said, the Associated Press reported. Arizona has been defrauded in recent years out of hundreds of millions of dollars through such scams, state officials estimated. The fraudulent charges were submitted mostly through the American Indian Health Program, a Medicaid health plan that allows providers to bill directly for reimbursement of services rendered to American Indian and Alaska Native tribal members. Federal law lets Native Americans choose the fee-for-service plan or a managed care plan. The state Medicaid program known as AHCCCS — Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System — contracts with managed care organizations to provide health services to most Medicaid members in Arizona, while the fee-for-service plan allows American Indians to use any provider registered with AHCCCS. The scams’ far-reaching consequences are now becoming known as warnings are sounded by state and tribal governments outside Arizona, as well Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Montana Gov. Greg Gianfonte (R).
