News

Washington, D.C. – As the nation’s opioid epidemic continues to devastate American families and following reports of illicit actions by recovery treatment homes, or sober homes, in Florida, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) today introduced the Sober Home Fraud Detection Act. This bill would help states, law enforcement, private insurers and patients identify potentially illicit sober home providers to ensure those who need treatment are able to do so from legitimate facilities while also preventing health care fraud.

This bill comes after Rubio urged Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Department of Labor (DOL) Inspector General Scott Dahl, and Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Daniel Levinson to coordinate efforts to combat the opioid crisis in Florida by investigating claims of kickbacks and false statements associated with federal health plans and private insurance plans.

“The nation’s opioid epidemic has devastated far too many American families, and the thought of losing a loved one is already frightening enough without having to worry about unscrupulous actors posing as legitimate treatment centers,” said Senator Rubio. “This bill will target disreputable treatment centers and sober homes that have plagued Florida to ensure wrongdoers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for the devastation they have caused too many families.”

“The true measure of society is how it treats its most vulnerable,” said Senator Nelson. “This bill will help protect people from fraudulent sober homes and drug treatment centers, so anyone battling addiction and seeking help can get the care and support they need without becoming victims of fraud.”