Ethics in Treatment

Watch out for shady marketing practices

Posted on June 11, 2021June 11, 2021 by Gregory Gooden

Consumer Alert: Watch out for marketers posing as neutral, unbiased addiction treatment resources
Free, comprehensive addiction treatment resources available at findtreatment.gov OLYMPIA – In light of his office’s investigation into an addiction treatment marketing company, Attorney General Bob Ferguson is urging Washingtonians to be aware of marketing websites that pose as neutral sources of information about addiction treatment facilities.

From up to 62 years in jail to zero; plea deal in body brokering case raises anger and questions

Posted on May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 by Gregory Gooden

From up to 62 years in prison to zero; plea deal in body brokering case raises anger and questions
Dylan Walker faced up to 62 years behind bars, but won’t serve a single day in jail after pleading guilty to 62 counts of patient brokering. Walker also won’t pick up one bit of trash along the freeway, or spoon one ladle of soup in community service after signing a May 6 plea deal that reduced the felony charges against him to misdemeanors.

A Severe Ethical Crisis

Posted on February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 by Gregory Gooden

As Addiction Deaths Surge, Profit-Driven Rehab Industry Faces ‘Severe Ethical Crisis’
As the nation’s addiction crisis deepened, Tamara Beetham, who studies health policy at Yale University, set out to answer a simple question: What happens when people try to get help? Her first step was to create a kind of undercover identity – a 26-year-old, using heroin daily.

Mass.gov notice on avoidance of treatment scams

Posted on October 23, 2020October 23, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

Avoiding addiction treatment scams
The Attorney General’s Office has received multiple reports of attempts to recruit Massachusetts residents with substance use disorder to travel to so-called “treatment centers” in Arizona, California, or Florida. These recruiters often use texts or social media to recruit patients. The recruiters may offer to pay for airfare and health insurance to cover the costs of treatment.

Big bust: 52 million dollar scheme.

Posted on July 4, 2020July 4, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

‘Real-life Frankensteins’: Doctor, 5 others charged in $52M scheme involving sober living patients undergoing surgery, OCDA says
A Beverly Hills surgeon, his girlfriend and four others were charged in connection with an elaborate scheme, paying patients at Southern California sober living homes to undergo medically unnecessary surgeries, medical testing and other procedures to bilk insurance companies out of nearly $52 million, officials said Friday.

The Florida Shuffle

Posted on March 3, 2020March 3, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

She wanted addiction treatment. She ended up in the relapse capital of America.
Brianna Jaynes wanted help for her addiction to painkillers and heroin. She ended up trapped in a cycle that focused on running up big insurance bills and landing profitable kickbacks – not addressing her drug problem. In 2015, when Jaynes was 20, she started her rehab search by calling a number she found through Google.

$3.2 Million Sober Living Home Fraud Scheme Shut Down

Posted on January 17, 2020January 17, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

$3.2 Million Sober Living Home Fraud Scheme Shut Down
News: 2020 Press Release For Release: January 17, 2020 Email Inquiries: cdipress@insurance.ca.gov $3.2 Million Sober Living Home Fraud Scheme Shut Down Five defendants charged with multiple felonies for preying on vulnerable substance abuse patients to bilk insurance company out of millions SANTA ANA, Calif.

Model Patient Protection And Treatment Ethics Act

Posted on November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

This is a lovely suggested model of a treatment ethics law that could use your attention. It was created by the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws.

Read it. If you like what it says, ask your legislators what they are doing to accomplish those patient safety goals.

If someone dies….

Posted on November 16, 2019November 16, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

If somebody dies, even in drug rehab, shouldn’t it be a potential crime?
With enormous hope, Gail and Warwick Dunnett sent their son Harrison – a rapper, poet and musician who struggled with learning disabilities – to an addiction treatment center in Pasadena to get well. Harrison, 20, was giddy over his acceptance to the Los Angeles College of Music, and eager to start the next phase of his life.

Owner of California Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Charged in Scheme to Defraud ACA Programs

Posted on November 15, 2019January 8, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

Owner of California Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Charged in Scheme to Defraud ACA Programs
U.S. Attorney John H. Durham of the District of Connecticut, Special Agent in Charge Phillip Coyne of the Boston Regional Office of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, Special Agent in Charge Brian C.