With drug addiction rates at epidemic levels, some treatment centers are now feeling the heat from authorities for the way they have been acquiring patients. Individuals receiving payment for delivering patients known as “referrals” or “body brokering” looks to be finally coming to an end.
— The addiction treatment business is booming, and the problem of substance abuse doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon. But there has been a dirty secret of how some treatment centers have been acquiring patients for their drug rehab facilities. Some operators of these centers have been paying the addicts themselves to come into treatment or outside marketing individuals to bring patients to them. Attorney Mick Meagher stated, “there is no gray area; if you are paying for referrals per client you are breaking the law!” Mick Meagher, a leading attorney for over 20 years in the addiction business, states this clearly and firmly. State and Federal laws and insurance codes support what he is saying. It is simply against the law to pay a fee per client for referrals, a practice that many addiction treatment centers are still doing illegally. Recent FBI raids and hundreds of arrests in Florida and California are changing the thoughts of many of these treatment center owners as fear, is acting as a positive motivator to do the right thing. Meagher, sober himself for 30 years, says that greed, insurance fraud and patient brokering is running rampant in the addiction business, and now all of these law-breaking acts are about to come to a halt. The insurance companies, state and federal authorities, are in some cases planning a surprise attack, and in other instances showing their cards and attacking these fraudulent owners and employees full force with the law on their side.
A representative from a company that provides marketing for treatment centers, Sober Life Services stated “you would think that the fear of going to jail, paying huge fines or conceivably losing a business would be enough of a deterrent. I personally have been in the addiction business for over 27 years, been involved in hundreds of family interventions and am a sober member of AA. I humbly know and understand addiction. I have seen this industry change over the last several years and not for the better. Treatment jumpers, body brokers, insurance fraud, patient brokering has become a common occurrence. As Attorney Meagher points out this is all coming to an end, I agree and have taken his lead in the fight for proper care and ethical, legal, marketing practices that the industry needs desperately. The influx of new treatment centers, popping up like wildflowers on the side of the freeway, is part of the problem as inexperienced owners and employees simply lack the knowledge, training, and expertise of operating a treatment facility that is dealing with changing and saving lives! We already are starting to see changes in the industry and that gives me hope for a solid future in the addiction business.”
Attorney Meagher, who has written several articles, been on several syndicated radio talk shows and quoted in numerous newspapers only operates according to the law and has been an industry leader in getting things turned around. Those on the right side of the law urge all treatment facility owners to educate themselves on the state laws, federal laws and insurance laws regarding patient referrals. “I would think that insurance fraud needs no education, just fear of the law and jail time. Sober Life Services LLC operates as an ethical marketing company that offers a contractual marketing program that are cost productive, fair and legal. They offer the treatment centers a way of doing business which is not only the right way, and legal way, but a way that can keep the marketing costs manageable, and client acquisition cost to a minimum which will keep their facility profitable. Yes, there are still owners that are crazily willing to risk it all just to make a few extra bucks, trying to save money paying per client by paying an illegal referral fee to a body broker. The bad news is that they are putting their lives in serious jeopardy. What most are learning now is that the game is changing and the stakes are severe. Is it really worth the risk? Companies like Sober Life Services think not.
Sober Life Services soberlifeservices.org can be reached for consultation, and is more than happy to help, or just give some solid advice. Their comprehensive plan offers a marketing campaign that will helps alcohol and drug rehabs meet their needs, keeping expenses manageable, and offering a realistic opportunity to be profitable. Keeping in mind they are in a business that helps save and change lives, they also understand that centers are profit driven. The Sober Life Services team will provide the treatment center with a legal marketing contract that will protect both parties and keep everyone on the right side of the law. This is just the start of some major changes that are taking place in the addiction industry. Just like the addict seeking help and wanting to do the right thing, it’s now the addiction center owners that must lead the way in doing what is right. Make the change for the better, save lives, careers, and business by taking action today.
Contact Info:
Name: Kevin Leonard
Email: info@knackmedia.com
Organization: The Recover
Address: 402 West Broadway, #400, San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 9379801118
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