Congress quizzes PBC duo on crisis
Leaders seek aid from officials on opioid epidemic
Palm Beach County’s crackdown on abuse and fraud in the drug treatment industry caught the attention of Congress on Tuesday.
Two top prosecutors linked to more than 40 arrests in South Florida testified before a House subcommittee on how to curb crimes amid the opioid crisis.
In an opening statement, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg described illicit practices some businesses use to cash in on the influx of people coming to South Florida for drug treatment — often
with devastating results.
“Today, 75 percent of all private-pay patients in Florida drug treatment centers come from out of state, and for too many of them, they leave our community only in ambulances or body bags,” Aronberg told members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
One crime is patient brokering, which includes sober-home operators accepting gifts and bonuses in exchange for providing patients to treatment providers.
Aronberg calls it the “Florida shuffle.”
A Palm Beach County task force consisting of prosecutors and police has made more than 40 arrests of people who run sober homes and drug-treatment centers as part of a crackdown on illegal patient brokering in the industry.
Lawmakers held Tuesday’s hearing to learn more about abuse and fraud and how oversight can be improved. Their inquiry comes as federal health officials estimate 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose and the number of people seeking treatment is on the rise.
Aronberg joined Palm Beach County Chief Assistant State Attorney Al Johnson, Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Eric Gold, and representatives from the treatment industry to discuss the issues.
Lawmakers asked witnesses about how to identify rogue operators and the role insurance companies play in paying for unnecessary care.
They also asked for recommendations on what the federal government can do to better protect patients with substance-use disorders.
Aronberg pointed to federal housing and disability laws that are intended to protect people from discrimination. The laws unintentionally shield unscrupulous businesses from scrutiny, letting them exploit people for profits, he said.
Johnson said there are a number of roadblocks facing local, state and federal prosecutors. He said an expansion of the federal antikickback statute, which prohibits kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals for Medicare and Medicaid programs, could help them pursue legal action against private treatment facilities.
“Patient-brokering abuses, regardless of whether the insurance is public or private, hurts patients and increases the cost of health care to everyone,” Johnson said.