On March 14, 2024, Paragon’s Gary Alexander was quoted in Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting‘s article “State leaders misled public about scope of Medicaid fraud crisis.”
From the article:
The rapid expansion of AHCCCS’ member rolls made the agency even more susceptible to abuse, according to Gary Alexander, a director at the Paragon Health Institute, a health policy research group founded by a former Trump administration official.
“The bigger something gets and the more complex something gets, the greater the chance for fraud,” Alexander said, adding that while the flexibilities were in effect AHCCCS “should have gone in with a scalpel” to monitor for improper billing.
In June 2021, one year after the waiver went into effect, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a bulletin outlining how states should step up monitoring and oversight of managed care organizations and provider screening protocols. The guidance followed a report by the Government Accountability Office calling on CMS to better coordinate with states to implement the requirements.
AHCCCS’ provider screening requirements remained relaxed for the next 10 months.
The full article can be found in Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
