Governor Rick Scott recently officially declared a public health emergency regarding the opioid epidemic happening and problems with addiction in Florida. The emergency declaration allows him to spend immediately without the approval of Legislature’s. This declaration also allows Florida to accept a federal grant for prevention, treatment, and recovery services that over two years will total at $54 million. Scott also is allowing first responders to have and administer Naloxone so that they can use it if needed. In 2015, 2.538 Floridians died directly because of opioids and another 1,358 died with opioids as a contributing factor. While the help from Governor Rick Scott is needed for many people, there is a current downside. With the release of this official public health crisis there was also another release. NBC News did an investigation into the treatment centers in South Florida. What they found is distasteful to say the least.
Issues with “Sober Homes”: Addiction in Florida
Many people go into treatment in their home cities because it is near by and offers easier access. However, sometimes going into treatment near home can be the wrong choice. Some people finish their treatment and go back to all their old friends and old hangout spots and start using again. Sometimes the best thing to do for treatment is to go to a new area, a new state. Many people have come to find this as true, and if you were going to recover anywhere why not recover in “paradise?” That is one of the many feelings of the thousands of people who travel to south Florida’s treatment centers. These people arrive in Palm Beach County in South Florida expecting to recover from their addiction while enjoying the soft-sand and the warm ocean. A lot of these people do find recovery, and the majority of addiction treatment centers do provide exceptional care, but others have fallen into a scam. Some of these treatment centers have found a way to gather money without really doing anything. They have “body brokers” and so called “sober homes” that promote for their treatment center, and in return get kickbacks for each patient.
Treatment Issues & Addiction in Florida
These “sober homes” and “body brokers” go out and find people who are in need of recovery. They bring them to the treatment centers where they run everything through the patient’s insurance for guaranteed money. They bill the insurance for tens of millions of dollars for unnecessary and costly drug tests, unusual laboratory testing, and questionable counseling treatments. These body brokers offer cigarettes, manicures, grocery store gift cards, and free rent as incentives to have them go to the treatment centers they are representing. Some of these treatment centers overlook drug use that continues at their facilities and some even encourage it, because to them that means more profit. This has become a billion dollar industry. The Florida Association of Recovery Residences oversees sober houses and has seen that this scam is hurting those treatment centers who are ethical and really trying to help those in need. The treatment centers in Florida who use this scam have marketers in other states recruiting people to come to their facility. Families send their loved ones off to recover and within a few weeks they hear that they’re in a sober house but they still keep getting bills for DNA testing, bills from chiropractors, thousands for treatment, and thousands for laboratory tests. When these family members tried to get in contact with the treatment centers some would try to explain the charges and others wouldn’t even answer. These family members didn’t realize how bad it was because the treatment center would often waive the deductibles and co-pays and no one ever came to collect on the payments. That is because the treatment centers would just write off whatever they didn’t get paid. Law enforcement is also catching on, raiding these facilities, and shutting their doors. It is hard to know where these sober houses are because they don’t have any kind of oversight and they vastly outnumber the well intentioned sober houses that are actually trying to help.
How to Find the Right Addiction Treatment Program
When looking for a treatment for you or your loved one, whether it is in state or out of state there are certain things that you should make sure to ask all addiction treatment centers.
- What is their approach to care and do they have studies measuring the effectiveness? Be wary of those who say they have had extraordinary success or have been able to return individuals to controlled use patterns. Look for an addiction treatment program that treats patients on a psychological, physical, and spiritual level. Remember that drug and alcohol treatment is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Addiction Treatments vary widely according to the addictive substance, the existence of co-occurring illnesses, the age, gender and cultural background of the patient and many other variables. They must be addressed together.
- What licenses and credentials do their staff have? Question addiction treatment providers about which modalities therapists have been trained in. Ask whether individual therapy is available and how many sessions are provided. Be wary of programs that only use group therapy.Effective treatment involves monitoring of substance use throughout treatment. Addiction not only wears down the individual suffering from the disease directly, it also affects friends, family members, and treatment staff. Be sure that your treatment staff is not only taking care of the patients but also taking care of themselves.
- What kind of licensing or accreditations does the program have?
- What is the counselor to patient ratio? Treatment centers that keep small group sizes to ensure that people receive personalized care and attention that is needed for recovery.
- Is help available for the families? When looking for help with addiction from an addiction treatment program, ask if they have a family program and if so, how it works.
- Is medically supervised detox apart of the treatment?
- Is there ongoing support after treatment? Most forms of serious addiction require extended care beyond any formal period of treatment. This means you will want a rehab center that provides follow-up care, at least through the 90-day point. Ask about continuing care options available to patients. Ask how long the continuing care continues and what form it is in. Ask about formal efforts to link patients with AA or other mutual help groups. Ask about linking the patient with their primary care physician to assure continuity of care.
