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A Whole New World for Substance Abuse

Service Providers and Marketers

Florida is in the midst of an patient to a recovery residence, or Consumer Services (“DOACS”) before
opioid crisis. Lack of effective accepting a patient referral from a recov- doing business in Florida. “Doing busi-
State regulatory oversight of ery residence, unless, with limited ness in Florida” has a very broad defini-
residences known as “sober exceptions, the recovery residence holds tion under the Act. It means any marketer
homes” was found to be a sig- a valid certificate of compliance from the located in Florida that is marketing for a
nificant contributing factor to State Department of Children and Florida treatment facility or recovery res-
the rising death toll from opi- Families (“DCF”) and is actively man- idence, including an in-house call center,
oid overdose. Sadly, the addi- aged by a DCF certified recovery resi- and marketers operating from other states
tional insurance coverage for dence administrator. or nations on behalf of substance abuse
substance abuse treatment in In addition to treatment providers fac- service providers or recovery residences
the Affordable Care Act, com- ing administrative fines and sanctions located in Florida. Whether licensure is
bined with Florida’s lack of against their DCF licenses, violation by required or not, the Act makes all sub-
stringent regulation and over- any person or company of this referral stance abuse marketers subject to crimi-
sight of sober homes, BY SANDRA P. GREENBLATT, ESQ. prohibition constitutes unlawful Patient nal penalties for making a knowing or
enabled widespread abuse by AND CYNTHIA BARNETT HIBNICK, ESQ. Brokering. Florida’s Patient Brokering willful false or misleading statement or
unscrupulous operators tak- Act is a strict liability law – if you violate providing false or misleading informa-
ing advantage of vulnerable it, you are liable regardless of intent. tion, violating Patient Brokering, or hav-
patients for financial gain. A receiving payments based on the volume Violations of the Patient Brokering Act ing a website or link that surreptitiously
scheme of kickbacks between some treat- of clients admitted to treatment centers. are felonies, punishable by fines from directs a reader to another website. The
ment providers and sober homes led to a On June 27, 2017, Governor Scott $50,000 to $500,000 and imprisonment Act also requires specific terms and con-
revolving door for many substance use signed into law HB 807, the “Practices of from 5 to 30 years, depending on the ditions that must be included in market-
disorder patients. These homes often Substance Abuse Service Providers Act,” number of patients involved. The new ing contracts with treatment providers or
enabled patients to again become addict- (the “Act”) a new omnibus law, effective Act now also defines a Patient Brokering recovery residences.
ed after treatment, thus needing readmis- July 1, 2017, to regulate the substance use violation as part of racketeering (RICO) Finally, the law strengthens the DCF
sion for further treatment paid by insur- disorder industry in Florida. Attacking activity under the criminal code. substance abuse treatment provider licen-
ance, and so on. The problem was further the abuses by both treatment providers Addressing another major part of the sure program and the regulation of serv-
exacerbated by aggressive marketing and sober homes, now known officially as industry’s problem, the new Act requires ice providers. It also substantially increas-
practices by some providers and market- “recovery residences”, the Act prohibits a any entity providing substance abuse es the penalty for unlicensed substance
ing companies enticing patients from treatment provider from referring a marketing services to obtain a license abuse service providers. The DCF must
within and without Florida and paying or prospective, current, or discharged from the Department of Agriculture and Continued on page 4

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South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com December 2017 3