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Florida House of Representatives Looks to Establish Palm Beach County Fraud Pilot Project

fl legA bill filed in the Florida House of Representatives establishes a Palm Beach County based fraud pilot project that is designed to coordinate and address “state and local efforts to address entities that use unethical and fraudulent business practices to prey on vulnerable individuals with substance abuse disorders and their families.”  The Project is to be developed by the Palm Beach County State Attorney and requires him/her to consult with an advisory panel consisting of the following State Attorney appointed members— representatives of DCF, the Palm Beach County Sheriff, a local business organization, the health insurance industry and the substance abuse treatment industry; the executive director of FARR; the executive director of the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association; a county official; and an official representing a municipality in Palm Beach County.

The Panel’s responsibilities include—

  • Identifying unethical and fraudulent marketing practices engaged in by substance abuse provides and recovery residences;
  • Collecting data about unethical and fraudulent marketing and business practices of the treatment industry and recovery residences;
  • Conducting a consensus of local, state and federal efforts to address patient brokering; and
  • Reviewing the adequacy of laws to address the foregoing.