Scott signs bill aimed at reducing the number of addicts coming to state.

Law aims to cut addicts traveling to Fla. for rehab

New regulations on sober homes are coming with Gov. Rick Scott’s signature on a bill that could lower the number of addicts traveling from out of state to stay in the homes in South Florida.

Sober homes, a sort of halfway house for people recently released from rehab, have proliferated across South Florida but especially in Palm Beach County, where they are endemic to Delray Beach.

Many private treatment centers here are aggressively marketing in parts of the Northeast and Midwest ravaged by the opioid epidemic, law enforcement officials say. One study found that three of four people in private treatment in Florida are from out of state.

City commissions have passed ordinances cracking down on the homes in Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, but local governments are limited in what they can do.

Some sober home operators have engaged in illegal practices, offering kickbacks to rehab centers for referrals — a practice known as patient brokering — and allowing drug sales on premises. Among others:

Lastweek, a doctor was sentenced to a decade in federal prison as part of a wide-ranging investigation into sober homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Three otherswere convicted in April of abusing patients and defrauding insurance companies. The ringleader, Kenneth Chatman, admitting giving his

clients drugs, prostituting women and defrauding insurers. He was sentenced to 27.5 years in prison.

An operator in Palm Springs was arrested in March, accused of paying kickbacks to rehab centers for referrals.

The new state law bans the homes from falsely advertising goods or services they do not provide or misstating the location of the home. Violating that part of the lawis a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,000 fine for each violation.

The bill passed unanimously in both Florida Legislature chambers. It was sponsored by Republican state Rep. Bill Hager of Boca Raton and Democratic state Sen. Jeff Clemens of Lake Worth. Both say the restrictions on advertising will lessen the number of people coming to the homes from out of state.

“It’s going to happen,” Hager said. “Not tomorrow morning, but across time.”

In addition to outlawing false advertising, the new law adds background checks and some sharp teeth for violating existing state guidelines. The law:

Adds patient brokering to the list of serious crimes, such as murder and robbery, that can be tackled by Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Requires rehab centers to provide proof that they can offer the services required.

Puts in place stricter background checks on owners and operators and adds clinical supervisors to the list of rehab employees who need to get one.

Provides penalties for centers that don’t meet state guidelines, including fines up to $500 for each violation.

Mandates that rehab centers can only refer clients to sober homes that are certified by the state. After June 30, 2019, rehab centers can be fined $1,000 for every referral made to an uncertified sober home.

Includes severe penalties for patient brokering, up to a first-degree felony and $500,000 fine when the violation includes 20 or more patients.

“We’ve dramatically stepped up the regulation of sober homes,” Hager said. “We have done through this bill everything in our power at the state level.”

State government can’t do much more because recovering addicts are counted as disabled under the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the disabled are protected from housing discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. Congress would need to change these laws for any further regulation of sober homes.

“We’re operating in the vice grip of these two statutes,” Hager said. “It is the optimum we can do at this point in time. We need ongoing help with the federal government.”

But for law enforcement and people involved in the industry in South Florida, it’s a place to start.

“I don’t think it’s a comprehensive measure by any means. But for themost part, it’s a really good start,” said Justin Kunzelman of the Ebb Tide Treatment Center in Palm Beach Gardens.

Kunzelman was part of the Palm Beach County So ber Homes Task Force setup by Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg. Many of the task force’s recommendations were used in crafting the law.

“It is a big step in the right direction,” Aronberg said. “Although it does not directly regulate sober homes, it will help clean up the abuses in the drug treatment industry.”

Like the bill sponsors, Aronberg hopes to see a decrease in out-of-state recovering addicts being lured to South Florida with false promises.

“You will see a lot of the illegal marketing that drives people down here from other places will start to dry up — the free plane tickets and exaggerated claims, you’ll see far less than that,” he said. “That could mean you’ll see fewer out-of-state patients than you see today, where 75 percent of all the individuals in recovery are from out of state.”

Kunzelman, Aronberg and others from the task force recommended the bill’s tighter restrictions on licensing.

“It’ll make it harder to get licenses, which is the first step in stopping the madness of the treatment industry right now,” Kunzelman said.