And the Beat Goes On –
May 29, 2018 – A potential crackdown is looming on the world of “patient brokering,” where head-hunters find people fighting addiction, and essentially sell them to the highest bidder. Officials say patient brokers are ruthless, targeting vulnerable people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The head-hunters can make as much as $10,000 for each person they book for treatment. California lawmakers say the abuse’s reach is far and wide, and they’re trying to stop it … Jeanette believes her daughter fell in with “patient brokers” – people who bonded with and recruited her, putting her in treatment centers, to then get kickbacks from facilities willing to pay top dollar. Those facilities then charged tens of thousands of dollars to Jeanette’s insurance company. Jeanette says these brokers even bought things for her daughter. “She got taken out to nice dinners almost every night. She got clothes bought for her,” she said. California has more than 2,000 licensed facilities – and many more unregulated recovery homes, according to the State Department of Health Care Services. There are a lot of beds to fill, so some unscrupulous places hire brokers. Officials say they find patients wherever they can, at times shipping people to our communities from out of state. “I’ve been offered $2,500 to go to California for detox,” Isaac, who didn’t want his last name to be released, said.
