California Drug Rehab Fraud Leaves Patients Stranded

An illustration of two people in a car, driving along a long winding road with the ocean in the distance. One sign says "Now leaving Oklahoma." Another, futher off, is the Hollywood sign. — Illustration by Bryce Yzaguirre courtesy of Curbside Chronicle

Yolanda and Dustin traveled 1,400 miles from Oklahoma to southern California in the back of a Chevy truck in the spring of 2024, hoping to overcome their addiction to fentanyl. A friend told the couple about a treatment program offering housing and new clothes. Instead, they say, they received limited care and eventually had to pay their own way home.

Their experience reflects a broader problem, according to an investigation by The Frontier and the Curbside Chronicle, two nonprofit news outlets in Oklahoma: A growing number of California drug rehabilitation programs are using recruiters known as “body brokers” to lure people from Oklahoma with the promise of comprehensive treatment. Some patients described receiving inadequate care, suffering relapses, and being left stranded after insurers accused treatment providers and recruiters of fraudulently enrolling patients and submitting inflated claims.

Federal law prohibits financial inducements in exchange for referrals to addiction treatment facilities with penalties of up to 10 years in prison and $200,000 in fines. California law also prohibits treatment facilities from giving or receiving kickbacks for patient referrals.

The couple spent about a week at Integrity Recovery Center, a detox facility in a mansion in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles getting treatment that Yolanda said consisted largely of medication and occasional staff check-ins. They “sat around and watched TV,” she said.

The couple later bounced among outpatient providers and sober living homes, doing group therapy sessions over Zoom, and getting care of varying quality. After another detox stay in July 2024, they decided to return to Oklahoma.

According to the Frontier, Insurance records show that the couple’s insurance was billed $440,000 for their treatment in California, with Integrity accounting for over 75% of the claims. Integrity and other providers ultimately received $72,000, leaving thousands of dollars in deductibles and other costs which the couple said they weren’t asked to pay. Under federal and California law, it’s illegal for providers to promise in advance to waive patients’ out-of-pocket costs to recruit them into treatment.

Yolanda said she expected the program to help arrange transportation home, but staff declined. The couple waited for Dustin’s monthly disability payment and bought bus tickets back to Oklahoma City.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma sued dozens of providers, including Integrity, in federal court in August, alleging the defendants fraudulently enrolled patients in insurance plans and submitted inflated or fake claims to cash in on more than $20 million in payments.

Back in Oklahoma City, nearly two years after the ordeal, Yolanda said she no longer uses fentanyl, but she and Dustin still lack permanent housing while trying to remain sober.

“I knew this all had something to do with money,” Yolanda said. “I don’t know if I convinced myself, or if I allowed myself to be convinced, that they actually cared about people, too.”