Ethics in Treatment

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.

Important Questions For a Treatment Center for your loved one.

Posted on October 29, 2019October 29, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

Looking for drug rehab? Ask facilities these 11 questions first.
Looking for drug rehab? It can be extremely difficult – and horribly expensive. In some cases, families spend years and thousands of dollars before they find treatment that works. Michel Cote, whose two daughters are now in recovery from opioid and meth addictions, said it took his family 10 years and $200,000 to find a small clinic that finally helped.

Liberation Way employees plead guilty in Bucks County addiction treatment scheme

Posted on September 4, 2019September 4, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

Liberation Way employees plead guilty in Bucks County addiction treatment scheme
Three employees of a shuttered addiction-treatment program in Bucks County have pleaded guilty to charges in an elaborate, multimillion dollar insurance fraud scheme, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday. Prosecutors filed charges in March against 11 people and nine businesses associated with Liberation Way, a Yardley-based program that operated multiple treatment centers and unlicensed “sober houses” in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

Some rural hospitals used for big insurance reimbursements – and profit

Posted on July 25, 2019January 8, 2020 by Gregory Gooden

Some rural hospitals used for big insurance reimbursements – and profit
Some rural hospitals are being used to set up big paydays from insurance providers, raising questions about how insurance claims are reimbursed. Since 2010, 83 struggling rural hospitals have closed, and as many as 700 others are at risk of closing in the next decade.