Overview
- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Thursday that prosecutors have secured 140 indictments and a 3.5-year prison sentence for nurse practitioner Rita Anagho in the Medicaid behavioral health probe.
- Behavioral health billing through the American Indian Health Plan fell from more than $3.1 billion in 2021–2023 to about $230 million in 2024–2026, a 92% drop credited to the 2023 crackdown.
- Governor Katie Hobbs said AHCCCS will launch an AI prepayment review in July that scores Medicaid claims for fraud risk so suspicious bills can be stopped before money goes out.
- The U.S. Health and Human Services inspector general warned states that weak Medicaid Fraud Control Unit enforcement can put all Medicaid funding at risk, and Mayes pointed to Arizona’s unit winning a national award in 2025.
- Investigators say the scheme lured Native Americans from reservations into unlicensed homes, billed for care never provided, and left some residents dead, with roughly 100 related cases still moving through court.