Task force seeks to clean up Florida’s drug treatment industry
Palm Beach County officials are trying to stop the ‘Florida shuffle,’ a term used to describe the endless cycle of patients bouncing between treatment centers and then relapsing into drug abuse.
Scenic coastlines, beachfront mansions and an abundance of golf courses is what comes to mind when most people imagine Palm Beach County, Florida.
The increasing number of alcoholics and drug addicts seeking treatment aren’t mentioned in tourist brochures, and certainly not the sober home owners who take advantage of them.
Each year, thousands of people suffering from addiction come to South Florida seeking treatment. “So many people come to treatment in Florida, or parents send their kids to treatment here, because they want to get sober and better themselves. It’s considered by many to be the recovery capital of the country,” says Christy Rafferty, Admissions Coordinator at Banyan Treatment Center in Boca Raton.
These patients are accompanied by millions of dollars in insurance and out-of-pocket payments. The annual market for drug rehab is about $35 million, according to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The opportunity for increased revenue becomes greater when treatment facilities engage in patient brokering — paying or receiving commission or bribes to refer patients to a healthcare facility.
“Instead of a decision being made about what is best for the patient, it’s being made based on financial incentives. Everyone involved is committing a felony, from the patient to the broker. It’s [an] illegal kickback for putting a head in a bed,” Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg explained.
The problem is so severe that in July 2016, Aronberg used $275,000 to create the Sober Home Task Force, which is comprised of state and federal police officers, agents and inspectors from various departments.
Aronberg pointed to a concerning trend that made county officials realize the task force was necessary. “We were having 14 deaths a day from opioids in Florida,” he explained. He also pointed to the “Florida shuffle,” a term used to describe the endless cycle of patients going to treatment, relapsing, returning to treatment and relapsing again.
The task force seeks to shut down the insurance fraud and patient brokering that runs rampant in the recovery industry. Since its creation, the task force has made 85 arrests for patient brokering and other crimes related to the drug treatment industry.
The task force is made up of both law enforcement officials and civilians. “Law enforcement officials are the ones who investigate, arrest and prosecute criminals, and then we have a group of civilian experts and concerned citizens who come together to recommend changes to state laws,” Aronberg said.
The task force promoted House Bill 807, which strengthened the penalties against patient brokers, expanded oversight over drug treatment centers, criminalized deceptive marketing, and increased incentives to license sober homes. The bill passed unanimously, and Governor Rick Scott signed it in June 2017.
Now, halfway houses will need a Certified Recovery Residence Administrator (CRRA) certification and a Florida Association of Recovery Residences (FARR) certification.
“FARR is there to basically make sure every patient, or client, is safe in the living conditions of the house. For example, there needs to be an escape plan in the house in case of a fire, exit signs and so on,” explained Igor Soldatov, who opened a Lake Worth halfway house in 2017.
FARR also works with the Department of Children and Family Services. “FARR has a level system for licensing. For a halfway house, there is no more needed licenses to keep it running. But a rehab with credentialed staff and clinical services would need more licensing,” Soldatov explained.
Despite these licensing requirements, insurance fraud remains a problem in treatment centers and sober homes. For example, urine tests are necessary to ensure patients are not using drugs, but corrupt centers will bill insurance companies for more urine tests than they are administering.
“The insurance company will pay for these tests, and then the treatment center uses this money to pay for the referral or to pay the patient. Everyone’s getting paid until the patient is in the back of an ambulance or a body bag. And that’s why this needs to be stopped,” Aronberg explained.
Insurance companies are key players in the scheme, whether they know it or not. “They are too willing to pay out the insurance benefits to fraudulent providers that enable this scam to continue,” said Aronberg. “If it wasn’t so easy to get insurance payments, this scam wouldn’t be so prolific. We as law enforcement cannot prosecute insurance fraud alone, we need the help of insurance companies.”
