UnitedHealth Group (UHG) this week is scrambling to remain the victim in the cyberattack that knocked subsidiary Change Healthcare offline for over three weeks, preventing payment for services to providers and disrupting prior authorization requests and pharmacy business nationwide.
On Tuesday, the company announced that it is now in...Arizona News
A valley law firm has sued the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) for the wrongful death of two Navajo men who were targeted in the sober living home fraud scandal. Also, an Arizona legislator is pushing regulations that would increase oversight of sober living facilities in the state.
The lawsuit alleges that...Arizona News
This week Mesa police arrested a couple that was the target of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation into fraud against the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and related money laundering.
The Mesa police organized crime unit worked closely with the IRS field office, which currently has 13 open cases...Arizona News
Community Health Workers (CHWs) can now register as providers with the state's Medicaid agency, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), and be reimbursed for providing Medicaid services. Community Health Workers serve as important liaisons between health and social services and the community to facilitate access to...
Last week, UnitedHealth Group's (UHG) health care technology subsidiary Change Healthcare was hit by a cyberattack that disrupted services for pharmacies and patients.
UHG said that once the attack was detected, Change was forced to disconnect some of its digital network from client access and shut down services including programs...
Last year, the Arizona Attorney General's Office in coordination with Arizona's Medicaid program uncovered a massive scandal that victimized thousands of vulnerable addicts through fraudulent sober living homes.
Some critics have noted that the term "sober living home" in the context of reporting on the scandal has been misconstrued...Arizona News
With rents reaching their most unaffordable levels in history and high rates of homelessness compounded by complex medical illnesses, the federal government has initiated a public-private partnership project to facilitate housing and rental assistance through Medicaid programs.
Although, as Vox points out, Congress has long resisted...
We are now on week three of the Arizona Legislative Session for 2024 and bills related to the health sector are garnering attention to address some of the state's more pressing needs.
Representative Selena Bliss (R-Prescott) introduced House Bill 2171 to create a Health Care Workforce Advisory Council and an investment fund that would...
Last week, legislators returned to the Capitol for the start of the 2024 Arizona Legislative Session and Governor Katie Hobbs gave her annual State of the State address.
Lawmakers have a significant challenge before them when it comes to balancing the budget this year, as the state is projected to end the fiscal year this summer in...Arizona News
On December 28, the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting found that the state's Medicaid agency, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) was informed in August 2022 that the agency's billing reforms for behavioral health providers "will have the unintended consequence of adding a significant amount of homeless to...Arizona News
The Targeted Investments Program Quality Improvement Collaborative supports AHCCCS providers who participate in the Targeted Investments Program and receive incentive payments for achieving quality measures over a five-year period.
In its first 5-year cycle from 2017-2023, the Targeted Investments program incentivized 17 hospital...
Our annual data edition focusing on the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) covers a lot of territory and 15 pages to help readers keep tabs on the agency charged with overseeing the managed care plans contracted with the state to deliver care to about 2.2 million Arizona Medicaid members.
Correction: On Page 4 the...
More fraudulent sober living home operators were charged by the state of Arizona this week for patient referral kickback schemes. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) Cabinet Executive Officer Carmen Heredia is calling for an overhaul of the state Medicaid system after spending the first year of her position focusing on...Arizona News
Gene therapies, which treat diseases at the genetic level, are becoming increasingly popular for pharmaceutical manufacturers as the efficacy of directly working with the human genome shows promise for effective health outcomes. But as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves them for use in the U.S., these drugs carry a hefty...Arizona News
As the state crackdown on fraudulent Medicaid-funded substance abuse recovery homes across Arizona continues, stories of patients impacted by the programs are emerging.
The facilities would operate under generic names like "Healing Fountain," "Happy Valley," or "Angelic Behavioral Health," and registered with the state as counseling...Arizona News
About a third of Arizona Medicaid members (128,960) were disenrolled for procedural reasons, which means although the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) had information the member was ineligible, they failed to respond to the agency's request for information during the renewal process.
The unwinding from the...
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) is investing $47.5 million from ARP Awards to help strengthen HCBS in Arizona.
Starting on December 4, 2023, eligible HCBS providers can apply for up to $1 million for programmatic or infrastructure projects to improve HCBS for round 2 of the ARP Program Awards. All applications...
The Arizona Attorney General's Office is continuing its massive investigation into fraudulent substance abuse recovery homes that target Native Americans.
Last week, the AG's office announced that the Better You Wellness Center LLC's two owners and its biller were indicted on charges of fraudulently billing the Arizona Health Care...Arizona News
In an effort to protect abused, neglected, and vulnerable ALTCS members, AHCCCS and DES have published two surveys available for ALTCS members and ALTCS members' families through November 17, 2023.
The surveys and evaluations are conducted by the University of Arizona’s Sonoran Center for Excellence in Developmental Disability. All...
