California state legislators have approved a bill that will crack down on patient brokering activity by substance use treatment facilities and the individuals employed there. Additional legislative language that would have established a framework for the certification of sober homes in the state was removed from the bill before its adoption, however.

Sherry Daley, government affairs director for the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP), tells Behavioral Healthcare Executive that the patient brokering measure will allow the state to revoke the professional credentials of either individuals or facilities giving or receiving remuneration for a patient referral. She believes that the threat of losing one's license to do business should serve as an effective deterrent to the kind of activity that has created an ethical cloud over the industry in California and nationally.

For a facility that loses its license, “You're looking at an 18-month situation” for being able to reopen, Daley says.

She says earlier versions of the legislation that was finally adopted as Senate Bill 1228 had placed more of an emphasis on criminal prosecution of brokering activity, which under the adopted legislation is considered a misdemeanor. “We felt it would be more financially damaging to take the credential,” whether it be a residential or outpatient program license or an individual's professional certification.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill into law this week.

Recovery residences

Significant legislative progress on recovery residences in California will be delayed until at least the next legislative session, advocates in the state report.

Dave Sheridan, president of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) and a longtime board member of Southern California's Sober Living Network, tells Behavioral Healthcare Executive that a stumbling block to moving forward with a plan to certify sober homes in the state appears to be lukewarm reaction within the state Department of Health Care Services. The state agency's stronger support for the idea a year ago appears to have given way to concerns about the cost of implementing a framework for certification, according to advocates.

Daley adds that some disability rights advocates in the state have been opposed to the idea of opening the door to state government regulation of enterprises that traditionally have been strongly protected by fair housing provisions.

Sheridan says that leaders in the recovery residence community would like to see a bill that would require all licensed treatmernt facilities in the state to refer patients only to state-certified sober homes. This would resemble the approach in Florida, the other state with the largest concentration of recovery residences in the country.