The federal government's Medicaid program is paying Native American shamans in California $826 a day to perform ancient rituals such as drum circles and spiritual dances to treat drug and alcohol addicts. The alternative treatments are part of Democratic governor Gavin Newsom's embrace of "indigenous knowledge," a pseudoscience that claims Native Americans have mystical healing powers that transcend the realm of traditional medicine.
The Biden Department of Health & Human Services gave its approval in October 2024 for California to reimburse Native American "Traditional Healers" with federal Medicaid dollars to treat addicts by drawing on their innate knowledge of ancestral healing rites. The treatments are an effort to combat alcohol and drug addiction in the Native American community, which has a significantly higher rate of substance use disorder than the general population.
Since then, 21 Indian Health Care Providers across the state have enrolled in the program, with the California Department of Health Care Services offering $826 per day to unlicensed "Traditional Healers" and "Natural Helpers" to host spiritual ceremonies, rituals, herbal remedies, and musical drum and dancing therapy for addicts.
But there's little evidence these ancestral rituals are effective in helping Native Americans and other patients to recover from their drug and alcohol addiction, with some studies showing the alternative treatments may actually be harmful. One study reviewed by the National Institutes of Health found that a significant portion of participants in a Native American Drum Circle study reported drinking more alcohol than usual after participating in the intervention. Another study found that the use of Native American Sweat Lodge Ceremonies to treat alcoholics was mostly ineffective.
The California Department of Health Care Services has crafted the "Traditional Healers" program with a set of lax oversight rules that could render the program vulnerable to fraud and make it a target of the Trump administration's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. The task force has identified billions of dollars' worth of federal government contracts that have been awarded to potentially fraudulent businesses, many of which are in the medical sector. Last month, Vice President J.D. Vance, who heads the task force, announced that the federal government has frozen $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California, in part because the state is not taking fraud seriously, he said.
"We're talking about taxpayer-funded drum circles," a senior White House official told the Washington Free Beacon. "Someone in the Biden administration said, 'That sounds like a good idea.' It's disgusting. These were the experts running around telling everyone how much smarter they are. And they're using taxpayer dollars for drum circles."
The California Department of Health Care Services does not require "Traditional Healers" to be licensed or certified to be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement, a special privilege the department does not appear to bestow upon legitimate medical practitioners in the state. The state defines a "traditional healer" as anyone recognized by a Native American tribe as a "spiritual leader" who has "theories, beliefs, and experiences" that have been "handed down through the generations and which can be established through the collective knowledge of the elders of that Indian community."
A spokesperson for the California Department of Health Care Services told the Free Beacon that the role of a traditional healer is "culturally defined and cannot be replicated through state licensing structures."
There also appears to be little oversight on any of the particular procedures delivered by California's "Traditional Healers." The Department of Health Care Services provides a special carveout allowing these practitioners to submit claims for Medicaid reimbursement without a level of care modifier, a standardized procedure all other medical practitioners must complete to determine whether a patient meets criteria for a particular health care service.
The California Department of Health Care Services spokesperson said the level of care assessment is incompatible with traditional healing services. "Not requiring level of care modifiers for these services recognizes the unique and culturally specific nature of THCP and supports their delivery in a manner consistent with Tribal sovereignty," the department spokesperson said.
The standardized $826 daily rate California offers to "Traditional Healers" is "reimbursed at 100% federal match" when services are provided to Medicaid members who are American Indian or Alaskan Native, according to the state's billing manual. The rate, which the department spokesperson said was set after a "robust and sustained" consultation with tribes in the state, far exceeds many of the published day rates for mental health and drug addiction services provided by certified medical practitioners.
It's unclear how much taxpayer money California has allocated from its Medicaid budget to pay for "Traditional Healers" since the Biden administration approved the program in 2024, but a contract reviewed by the Free Beacon suggests the spending could be substantial. The Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic, one of the 21 centers participating in the program, was approved for a $2.1 million contract in March to provide "traditional health care" services with federal funds, records show. Another participant, United Indian Health Services, announced in April it was the first Indian health care provider to successfully receive reimbursement under the program.
The California Department of Health Care Services does not have any data showing whether its Native American "Traditional Healers" have been effective in helping patients overcome addiction. The spokesperson said the department will contract with an external evaluator to assess the program's health outcomes sometime before June 30, 2028.
California has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars on programs promoting the idea of "indigenous knowledge" since Newsom, a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, entered office in 2019. The fringe academic theory, which scientists have derided as "dangerous" and a rejection of the scientific method, is driving policy across several state government functions ranging from wildfire mitigation, energy development, wildlife recovery, and land conservation, the Free Beacon reported. The theory also proliferated in federal agencies during the Biden administration, including the Pentagon, which awarded $500,000 in 2024 to research how "indigenous knowledge" could unlock an increased understanding of arctic coastal systems.
