Arkansas Psychiatrist Brian Hyatt, Charged with Medicaid Fraud, Faces Mental Fitness Hearing

December 29, 2025

Brian Hyatt, the former Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist and onetime head of the Arkansas State Medical Board, will face a court hearing on January 12, 2026, to determine whether he is mentally fit to proceed in a criminal case involving two counts of Medicaid fraud.

Hyatt was arrested in 2023 after a confidential informant alerted the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to a sharp rise in billing at the Northwest Medical Center Behavioral Health Unit, where Hyatt allegedly had little to no patient contact while directing staff to conceal his identity from patients.

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