Ethics in Treatment

The Predatory Malibu Rehab Guru who Ripped off Obamacare

Posted on May 30, 2019May 30, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

The Predatory Malibu Rehab Guru Who Ripped Off Obamacare
He’s a convicted sexual predator who targeted women in his care. Soon he’ll be tried for an alleged $176 million insurance fraud. He’s an exceptionally bad person, but as a businessman he was fairly typical of rehab operators in America’s $42 billion-a-year treatment industry. His name is Christopher Bathum.

A deadly addiction recovery cycle

Posted on May 1, 2019May 1, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

A disturbing new phase of the opioid crisis: How rehab recruiters are luring recovering addicts into a deadly cycle
The offer was too good to resist: Go to rehab for a week, get $1,000 in cash. It was early 2017, and Brianne, a 20-year-old from a woody Atlanta suburb, had come to South Florida to leave her heroin addiction behind.

NAATP Releases Treatment Provider Guidebook

Posted on April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

NAATP Releases Treatment Provider Guidebook
The National Association is pleased to release the NAATP Addiction Treatment Provider Quality Assurance Guidebook: A Guide to the Core Competencies for the Delivery of Addiction Treatment Services (The Guidebook). The Guidebook identifies, describes, and provides implementation strategy for the core competencies of addiction treatment program operation, thereby empowering addiction treatment providers with clear direction for the proficient and ethical delivery of addiction treatment services.

First person found guilty of patient brokering sentenced to 3 years

Posted on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

First person found guilty of patient brokering sentenced to 3 years
Nicholas Cirio, the first person to be convicted by a jury for patient brokering in Palm Beach County, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo. WEST PALM BEACH – The first person to go to trial and be convicted by a jury of patient brokering in Palm Beach County was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Monday morning.

Bucks drug rehab fraud made millions off patients’ relapses, Pa. attorney general charges

Posted on March 25, 2019March 25, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

Bucks drug rehab fraud made millions off patients’ relapses, Pa. attorney general charges
The cofounder of a Bucks County drug treatment company and 10 others have been charged in a wide-ranging fraud scheme that, state officials say, trapped patients suffering from drug and alcohol addiction in a cycle of ineffective treatments and near-inevitable relapse – all as the company made tens of millions of dollars off insurance reimbursements and kickbacks.

“Mom, When They Look at Me, They See Dollar Signs”

Posted on February 27, 2019February 27, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

A disturbing new phase of the opioid crisis: How rehab recruiters are luring recovering addicts into a deadly cycle
The offer was too good to resist: Go to rehab for a week, get $1,000 in cash. It was early 2017, and Brianne, a 20-year-old from a woody Atlanta suburb, had come to South Florida to leave her heroin addiction behind.

A look at South Floridians charged in health care fraud, opioid crackdown

Posted on February 7, 2019February 7, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

A look at South Floridians charged in health care fraud, opioid crackdown
Authorities charge 601 people in health care fraud, opioid crackdown. Federal authorities call it the largest health care fraud crackdown in history. Among the people charged are 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals. Authorities charge 601 people in health care fraud, opioid crackdown.

Part of why we’re seeing less prosecutions

Posted on February 7, 2019February 7, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

Why judge’s ruling on patient brokering may up-end prosecutions
WEST PALM BEACH – Like dozens of others charged with patient brokering since prosecutors began their crackdown on Palm Beach County’s illicit drug treatment industry, James Kigar blames his legal woes on bad advice he received from an attorney.The excuse, once dismissed as idle finger-pointing, this week became a powerful tool Kigar and other treatment center operators can use to help them beat charges that they used recovering addicts to get rich.In a ruling that was praised

Kickbacks for Florida treatment center totaling nearly 250k

Posted on January 14, 2019January 14, 2019 by Gregory Gooden

Sober-home task force: Kickbacks for North Palm center totaled nearly $250,000
A Tequesta-area man is accused of paying to have patients sent to Reliance Treatment Center in North Palm Beach. A Tequesta-area man is charged with paying nearly a quarter-million dollars in kickbacks for referrals to his treatment centers.

California Lawmakers Want To Crack Down On Fraud At Drug Rehab Centers.

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Gregory Gooden

California Lawmakers Want To Crack Down On Fraud At Drug Rehab Centers. Will It Work?

Some lawmakers are aiming to cut down on corruption at addiction-recovery facilities by changing the way insurance companies reimburse providers. There are a whole host of problems with the drug rehab industry, according to a major investigation by the Southern California News Group: No degree, medical or otherwise, is required to get a facility license; and some centers are administering subpar, and even unnecessary, care and then billing insurance companies for it in the hopes of earning high reimbursements.