Working with rehab facilities, the businesses charged the state millions of dollars for addiction services they didn’t provide, according to authorities. Several thousand Native Americans, some from as far away as Montana, might have been lured to the Arizona homes, according to officials. Sober homes are supposed to offer a drug- and alcohol-free place to live for people struggling with addiction while they get treatment, work jobs or both. Authorities say the owners of the homes used rehab facilities they either ran themselves or collaborated with to bill the state’s Medicaid operator for fraudulent services. Michelle Brandser, a mental-health administrator for the tribe’s health department, interviewed dozens of people who said they were exploited by sober homes.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 11, 2023 15:59 UTC