A shocking investigation reveals that at least 40 Native American residents of sober living homes and treatment facilities in the Phoenix area died between spring 2022 and summer 2024, amid a massive Medicaid fraud crisis. The scheme, which targeted Indigenous people with addictions, cost Arizona taxpayers up to $2.5 billion.
The deaths, primarily from drug and alcohol use, occurred as state Medicaid officials struggled to respond to the widespread fraud. Despite warnings and evidence of the scheme’s danger to Native Americans, both Republican and Democratic administrations failed to take timely action.
The fraud flourished under Arizona’s American Indian Health Program, a Medicaid insurance option that allowed providers to set their own reimbursement rates. Some behavioral health providers exploited this system, claiming exorbitant amounts for single counseling sessions.
Jeffrey Hustito, a 43-year-old man from Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, became one of the victims. Seeking treatment for alcoholism in Arizona, Hustito was caught in a web of inadequate and fraudulent programs. He died in a sober living home on December 27, 2022, after multiple emergency room visits for alcohol and drug use.
The crisis led to the abrupt closure of many facilities, leaving patients without care and often homeless. Reva Stewart, a community advocate, estimates the total death toll could be in the hundreds.
Arizona officials have since implemented measures to combat the fraud, including a hotline for displaced victims and a $6 million grant program for affected tribal nations. However, for families like the Hustitos, who never received an apology or acknowledgment of their loss, the pain and quest for justice continue.
See: “Dozens of People Died in Arizona Sober Living Homes as State Officials Fumbled Medicaid Fraud Response” (January 27, 2025)
