PHOENIX — Every one of the dozens of people packed into a meeting room Tuesday night had a story about Arizona's AHCCCS rehab scam.
Some were trafficked, promised rehab, promised money and jobs, while others had family members who were. They all had one thing in common: someone saw them as a way to get rich.
"It's sad that it had to get this bad in order for our voices to be heard," Raquel Moody told the crowd. Moody's brother died on the street of an overdose. She said he was living in what she thought was a sober living home.
"Where are the resources?" she asked. "Where's the help?"
Vanessa Tortice's boyfriend was also in rehab. She was in one too.
"Temptation is all around us and drugs and alcohol were easier to get here than at home," Tortice said.
Tortice made it out. Her boyfriend didn't.
"I'm the one who helped him get into one of these facilities and it's something I regret every day," Tortice said. "I never thought he would die in the facility."
On and on, one story after the other. All wanting someone to listen, but above all, wanting someone to help.
"We're boots on the ground," organizer Reva Stewart said. "We see it all the time. We want accountability. that's what pisses me off."
Stewart spends her free time trying to help displaced tribal members from Arizona's massive Native American rehab scandal.
For years, investigators say, drug and alcohol rehabs have been collecting Native Americans off the reservations and bringing them to their businesses. Some are promised rehab, others are simply promised a place to stay. Sometimes they don't get either one.
Instead, these businesses are accused of massive overbilling through the American Indian Health Program. Some are accused of billing for more hours than there are in a day. Others are accused of billing for dead clients and incarcerated clients.
State officials have said so far, it's cost the state an estimated $2.8 billion.
"We became dollar signs," a man named James from South Dakota said Tuesday night. "We just became a big ass dollar sign."
More than 300 businesses have been placed on the AHCCCS suspension list, cutting off their ability to bill AHCCCS. The Arizona Attorney General's Office has handed down dozens of indictments.
But Stewart said the businesses are still recruiting.
"Accountability is what we want for our relatives," she said. "We want them to know that we're still fighting.
Stewart invited representatives from AHCCCS, the Department of Health Services and the Attorney General's Office to Tuesday's town hall, but none sent a representative.
DHS issued a statement Tuesday afternoon that read:
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) greatly appreciate the work Stolen People, Stolen Benefits is doing to help the community understand ongoing fraudulent behavioral health schemes targeting Arizonans. We wish to express our sympathy for those impacted, and gratitude to those who are courageously sharing their stories. It is an important step forward as we continue to assess changes that can be made to prevent Tribal members from being exploited by bad actors undermining legitimate behavioral health care services.
As part of the ongoing effort to ensure the safety of all Arizonans, ADHS continues to investigate complaints about licensed Sober Living Homes/Intensive Outpatient Facilities. Simultaneously, AHCCCS continues to address credible allegations of fraud against numerous providers who are currently, or may soon be, suspended from receiving Medicaid payments. Some of those facilities and providers may be attending the town hall. Because of this potential conflict of interest, both agencies have respectfully declined the invitation to attend in order to preserve the integrity of our investigations. We look forward to working with Stolen People, Stolen Benefits to create dialog and hear from victims and their families in order to hear and understand their stories and best inform us as we continue to address this issue.
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