The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - Episode 67 LIVE： The Florida Rehab Shuffle – Firebrand with Matt Gaetz

00:00:01.000 The embattled Congressman Matt Gaetz.

00:00:03.000 Matt Gaetz was one of the very few members in the entire Congress

00:00:06.000 who bothered to stand up against permanent Washington on behalf of his constituents.

00:00:10.000 Matt Gaetz right now, he's a problem for the Democratic Party.

00:00:13.000 He could cause a lot of hiccups in passing applause.

00:00:16.000 So we're going to keep running those stories to keep hurting him.

00:00:20.000 If you stand for the flag and kneel in prayer,

00:00:23.000 if you want to build America up and not burn her to the ground,

00:00:27.000 then welcome, my fellow patriots.

00:00:29.000 You are in the right place. This is the movement for you.

00:00:33.000 You ever watch this guy on television?

00:00:35.000 It's like a machine. Matt Gaetz.

00:00:38.000 I'm a canceled man in some corners of the Internet.

00:00:41.000 Many days I'm a marked man in Congress, a wanted man by the deep state.

00:00:46.000 They aren't really coming for me. They're coming for you.

00:00:49.000 I'm just in the way.

00:00:52.000 By December 2016, at least five overdose deaths have been linked to Kenny Chapman and his drug treatment facilities.

00:01:06.000 After building a strong case against him, law enforcement moves in.

00:01:11.000 We found evidence that further supported not only the healthcare fraud, but also the human trafficking portion of the case.

00:01:17.000 The Department of Justice arrested Chapman and five others, including doctors, owners and employees of sober homes and treatment centers.

00:01:25.000 There's a laundry list of accusations against them, including bribing patients to attend their drug treatment centers to bill their insurances,

00:01:33.000 allowing many of the patients to continue using drugs.

00:01:36.000 Chapman is accused of threatening patients to keep them from leaving the facilities, even recruiting women to engage in prostitution.

00:01:43.000 In 2015, News Channel 5 made contact with the family of one patient who went missing under Chapman's care.

00:01:50.000 Private investigator Joe Carrillo helped find the woman and says that's when he first learned of what was happening at the treatment facilities.

00:01:57.000 I didn't think she was going to make it.

00:01:59.000 The worst case I've ever had of a person that I've recovered that's been on drugs.

00:02:03.000 The FBI interviewed that woman before Chapman's arrest in December. 0.95

00:02:07.000 Still very fearful of him because it's not only Kenny Chapman, he has a network and they're all just as bad as him.

00:02:16.000 Welcome to a special investigative edition of Firebrand.

00:02:20.000 We are here to study and take a deep dive into the issue of addiction in America

00:02:27.000 and specifically how some of the crooks and thieves benefit off of a system that uses the addict as little more than an insurance policy with a heartbeat.

00:02:40.000 They call it the Florida Rehab Shuffle and we're going to break down this horrifying revolving door of abuse.

00:02:47.000 There's an individual, Kenny Chapman, you saw him and his circumstances portrayed in our open and he operated an entity called Reflections.

00:02:57.000 Now what you just saw from that open, from Kenny Chapman and Reflections, that's the symptom of a much larger disease that has permeated Florida in particular.

00:03:07.000 Chapman is just one of a massive cabal of predatory scammers.

00:03:12.000 We're going to tell you about them.

00:03:14.000 They prey on some of the most vulnerable people on Earth, drug addicts who are seeking treatment.

00:03:19.000 They essentially coerce people into their treatment centers by sending out Machiavellian brokers

00:03:25.000 who zero in on addicts at 12-step meetings and entice them into a specific treatment center.

00:03:32.000 They will often offer the addict money and or drugs in order to get them into this cycle of abuse.

00:03:39.000 And once the addict has agreed to treatment, they now have begun the first step in what we call the Florida Rehab Shuffle.

00:03:48.000 The addict is typically sent to a luxury resort for detox about seven to ten days before entering the treatment.

00:03:55.000 Here's what they don't tell you.

00:03:57.000 The detox centers get kickbacks from treatment centers who then send patients their way and vice versa.

00:04:04.000 There's always the relapse they capitalize on too.

00:04:07.000 The kickbacks don't stop there as the treatment center will get kickbacks from the labs who do urinalysis and blood work.

00:04:14.000 Even the owners of some of the sober homes.

00:04:17.000 This practice is also known as patient or body brokering.

00:04:23.000 And it's scaled to the moon.

00:04:26.000 The rehab business rose quickly to a billion dollar industry by dragging vulnerable, unwitting addicts into this repugnant cycle of treatment, relapse, detox, rinse, wash and repeat.

00:04:40.000 Meanwhile, the addicts aren't getting the care that they need, that they signed up for, that the taxpayers are paying for.

00:04:47.000 And as certainly at least one recovering addict can attest, they often facilitate continued abuse at the hands of the economic system that is the addiction industrial complex.

00:05:01.000 All of this in the name of the almighty dollar.

00:05:04.000 Now, sadly, the catalyst for this massive scam was none other than Obamacare.

00:05:11.000 The Affordable Care Act, it started the whole cycle.

00:05:14.000 Yet another unforeseen consequence of Obama's failed healthcare overhaul.

00:05:19.000 So joining me right now is a recovering opioid addict who spent over a month at Kenny Chapman's treatment center, Reflections.

00:05:28.000 He's also our congressional office press assistant, and he's been doing reporting with and for Firebrand for quite some time.

00:05:36.000 Chris Chella joins us now.

00:05:37.000 Thanks for being here, Chris.

00:05:38.000 And before I get into your specific circumstances with Kenny Chapman and Reflections and what that tells us about policy,

00:05:44.000 it's my belief that every American has some interface with addiction.

00:05:49.000 You have addicts, family members of addicts, friends and loved ones, people who are the employers of addicts, employees of addicts, partners.

00:05:59.000 How would you describe addiction to someone who's never been an addict?

00:06:04.000 How would you describe it?

00:06:07.000 Because I can't imagine, though people have different interfaces, I can't imagine all of these interfaces would in any way be comparable.

00:06:16.000 Yeah, that's a very good question, and thank you for having me on, Congressman.

00:06:20.000 I think addiction is just completely and utterly, and specifically with opiates, because opiates are, I think, the most addictive substance on the planet, next to nicotine.

00:06:34.000 And they just consume you.

00:06:38.000 Once you are hooked on opiates and, you know, starts with the pills and then eventually moves on to the heroin, you, that is your entire focus.

00:06:48.000 You wake up, okay, how am I going to score enough money to make sure I don't get sick?

00:06:53.000 And it's, unfortunately, you know, you have withdrawals when you stop, so even if you want to stop, the pain of withdrawal is, you know, pretty significant.

00:07:06.000 Especially if you've been hooked on it for a number of years, months, whatever.

00:07:10.000 It's extremely, yeah, it's very bad.

00:07:15.000 And so it's, so addiction, I guess, in a nutshell, is just being completely consumed and trapped and everything that you care about, your family, friends, job, everything goes out the window.

00:07:30.000 It's all about the drug.

00:07:33.000 And so you spent time at Reflections.

00:07:36.000 We've now seen how that system really does trap people.

00:07:42.000 What was your observation of that particular circumstance?

00:07:46.000 So what was really kind of bizarre to me was the first day I walked into Reflections, Kenny Chapman was walking around the facility in his three-piece suit with his Louis Vuitton belt.

00:07:58.000 And, you know, I don't hate on anyone for dressing well, but he, the disdain for his patients was palpable.

00:08:07.000 I mean, the way he would talk to people and it just, just absolute lack of respect.

00:08:13.000 Like you are almost like you're subhuman.

00:08:16.000 And, and I can see now why after, you know, his arrest and subsequent, you know, sentencing for all the things that he did, I can see why he acted that way.

00:08:27.000 Because he was a, someone who was attempting to, or he was engaging in multiple, you know, schemes that were making him rich.

00:08:37.000 He was not only engaging in, you know, false treatment center, you know, urine analysis.

00:08:43.000 He would have people, you know, sometimes pee twice and then, you know, just all different kinds of, you know, little things that would just.

00:08:51.000 But it was all about money.

00:08:52.000 Yes, exactly.

00:08:53.000 That's the thing.

00:08:54.000 It's all about money.

00:08:55.000 It's never about the patient, never about the patient.

00:08:56.000 And so Chapman, he ultimately, he was pimping girls out of his sober homes and then sending them back to treatment and giving them heroin so they wouldn't say anything.

00:09:09.000 And then when they would ultimately fail their drug tests, send them back to detox.

00:09:14.000 And then, like you said, rinse, wash and repeat.

00:09:17.000 And it's part of the reason that happens because the government keeps paying for it, right?

00:09:22.000 Like, I mean, if you run, I mean, take the human part out of it.

00:09:25.000 If you run one of these facilities, the last thing you really want is someone to graduate out of the most severe consequences of drug use and addiction.

00:09:36.000 You want them to continue to be in some part of that cycle that's getting paid for, right?

00:09:40.000 Right, exactly.

00:09:41.000 So, yeah, whether it's whether it's detox, whether you're just still in treatment and making sure that, you know, you're getting paid by the getting the kickbacks from the labs, getting the kickback from the sober homeowners, all that stuff.

00:09:53.000 And so, yes, it's just, you know, making sure that they are perpetually involved in that cycle and providing absolutely no treatment.

00:10:04.000 In fact, exactly the opposite of treatment.

00:10:06.000 Well, and yeah, and if you provide treatment and people get better, it's actually disruptive to your business model.

00:10:12.000 Now, we've been talking about this one facility in Florida, but there are so many others.

00:10:17.000 I mean, Chapman is a symptom of a much larger disease, and this corrupt practice has absolutely contributed to the major increase in opioid overdoses and in opioid abuse.

00:10:28.000 Now, the deaths that we've seen over the last several years, absolutely heartbreaking.

00:10:33.000 Take a listen.

00:10:35.000 Let's talk about the opioid overdose deaths, primarily fentanyl, because the numbers are staggering up 91% from 2019.

00:10:46.000 Take a look.

00:10:47.000 Over the course of three years, all right, they're at about over 71,000 for 2021.

00:10:52.000 You compare that to 37,000 back in 2019, the trend of deaths are up essentially over 20,000 a year for the past three years.

00:11:04.000 Those numbers are obviously very disturbing.

00:11:06.000 Now, Chris, we understand that these one size fits all solutions that put all of the country under the same drug rehabilitation paradigm, they ultimately fail.

00:11:19.000 But in your opinion, like, what is the way the government could have a positive impact, if possible, to try to go after these predatory systems and the predatory way that patients are used in these rehab centers?

00:11:34.000 Yeah, well, I think it needs to start at the local level.

00:11:38.000 And, you know, we need to have oversight over these rehabilitation centers.

00:11:43.000 If someone wants to open a treatment center, then they need, you know, strict scrutiny from, you know, local and or state.

00:11:52.000 I think that starting from the bottom up as opposed to the top down is going to be much more effective in fighting the epidemic.

00:12:01.000 I worry about the corruption impacting politics, too.

00:12:05.000 I mean, you look at some of these rehab centers in Florida, they are cash machines.

00:12:10.000 And then they have the ability to go hire the lobbyists to be able to go influence the policies.

00:12:15.000 So no matter where someone is trapped, whether you're trapped in detox, in rehab, in 12-step, in relapse, no matter where you're trapped, they're getting paid off of the grift one way or the other.

00:12:28.000 You know, are you worried about the sophistication of these networks to be able to play at a very dangerous level politically?

00:12:36.000 Yeah, I mean, that's always a concern.

00:12:39.000 You know, when there's so much money flying around, you know, there's always going to be room for corruption.

00:12:45.000 And, you know, the government, you know, they have thrown plenty of money at this problem.

00:12:51.000 Yes.

00:12:52.000 But we have seen very few results.

00:12:54.000 Some things we have, some positive stuff has come out, like the Narcan, giving Narcan to, you know, emergency first responders.

00:13:06.000 That helped very much in, you know, because that is the drug that you can jab somebody with when they're overdosing and save their life.

00:13:14.000 So, so there have been some positive things to come out of the, of what the government has done.

00:13:21.000 But, you know, these, yeah, but these programs, you know, I think there was like 57 programs created in 2017, between 2017 and 2018.

00:13:35.000 And it's like, you know, what are they really doing?

00:13:39.000 Well, and they could be doing more harm than good.

00:13:41.000 Right.

00:13:42.000 I mean, when rehab used to be something that you only got at church, that you only got through a sincere nonprofit that was not motivated by cash and profits and who their ultimate acquisition would be at some point, but really motivated by helping people.

00:13:58.000 You might have had less access to those programs, but I'm willing to bet they probably had a higher success rate in helping people out of addiction than these processing centers.

00:14:11.000 They're really addict processing centers more than they're about rehabilitation.

00:14:14.000 And I worry, like when the federal government puts a trillion dollars on the table, as we have with some of these things, are we doing that to make people better?

00:14:24.000 Are we doing that so that there's always a payment cycle to continue to feed addiction?

00:14:30.000 Well, I think, you know, there can be dual, you know, ulterior motives in that and in that, you know, they, of course, you know, they want to help people.

00:14:39.000 But also, yes, there's that. But I think that, you know, what's really irritating about so many people in Congress who want to legislate on opioids, whether it be opioids, guns or whatever, they don't know really what they're talking about.

00:14:57.000 We see that on display daily.

00:14:58.000 Yes, on the hearings that you that you attend, these people just, you know, talking out of their backside.

00:15:05.000 And that's, you know, a concern is that these people, they're trying to, again, some shoehorn, you know, put a square peg into a circular hole, fix the opioid problem.

00:15:18.000 And it's, it's different for everyone. Some people need treatment, some people can just, you know, go to the 12, you need the 12 steps, you know, AA, NA, other people can just stop.

00:15:30.000 And they don't need any further, you know, counseling or whatever. It's just, it's different for everybody.

00:15:36.000 And I think that the government needs to approach it in a fiscally, a more fiscally responsible way than they have.

00:15:45.000 Yeah, I would suggest we should measure how well we're doing, not by how much money we're spending, but by how successful these programs are at getting folks out of the cycle, not keeping them trapped in the cycle.

00:15:59.700 It's almost like the government's policies. And of course, I agree with you on matters like Narcan, but the policies to continue to fund every step of the cycle ensures that, that there aren't as many escape hatches, right, to get out.

00:16:15.240 I mean, and so, so if there was somebody, you know, watching us right now, who felt like they were being treated like a insurance policy with a heartbeat, what, what, what choices do people have?

00:16:29.500 What, what advice would you give as someone who's now a successful congressional staffer, you know, doing a great job in our office?

00:16:35.380 How do people realize that they're being victimized in this way? And then how do they, how do they turn the tide?

00:16:40.300 I think you start to, at first you kind of, you don't really know you've got some cool guy with Jordans and, uh, you know, driving a Lexus pulls up to your 12 step meeting and says, Hey man, yeah, I can get you to treatment.

00:16:53.820 Florida, you know, girls in bikinis, blah, blah, blah, you know? Um, and, uh, so that, but then once you get into it and you know, you're, you start to see the kind of the grift. 0.77

00:17:05.280 Yeah. The, the, yeah, the constant cycle of wait, why am I paying the sober home rent $75 a week when that's supposed to be covered by the insurance? That's just, and so I would tell people that you're not powerless.

00:17:20.480 You may, they, they, they try to make you feel that way, especially Mr. Chapman tried to make, you know, almost dehumanize addicts so that we would feel almost like we had no recourse when he would steal our property.

00:17:33.380 He stole people's phones, stole people's, uh, uh, wallets, medications that they need to prevent them from going back to opiates. Um, it's, it was, it's terrible. And so they're just Kenny Chapman, but how do people use their power to be able to escape that?

00:17:51.520 I would say that you speak up, um, you know, tell, you know, there are so many different, um, you know, outreach programs where if you feel like you're being abused by, um, a treatment center by rehab that you can reach out to and talk to these people and see if you are being abused.

00:18:10.260 And I think that, you know, more of that, more, uh, awareness needs to be brought to that. And I think that if people realize that they do have recourse that no, Kenny Chapman can't just take your phone that you can, you know, get the police involved and things like that. And, you know, just, yeah, I'd say just standing up for yourself and in regards to how to, you know, get out of, you know, addiction, I get out of the cycle.

00:18:36.760 Again, it's, it's a one, it's a, it's not a one size fits all, and it's different for everyone, but believe in yourself and forgive yourself because, you know, in my opinion, if God's forgiven you, what, you know, and what right do you have not to forgive yourself and the people you've wronged, you know, you try to make amends and you do your best.

00:18:59.520 And, um, so just stay strong and remember that, you know, the infinite human potential that we have is, is, is more, that is more powerful than this, um, substance and addiction.

00:19:16.160 What a great place to leave it. Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Chris. And, you know, I really believe that, uh, a lot of the notice requirements that we put around other features of healthcare, where people have a hotline to call, a way to regain that power that you talked about.

00:19:33.300 Maybe it's time that some of these entities that draw down gazillions of dollars in federal funding and state funding, that they ought to have posted notice, where if people feel like they're just being shuffled through the process and taken advantage of, there's somewhere for them to call and some way for them to get an inspector general or an attorney general or a state attorney involved.

00:19:55.440 And in fact, that's happened with some frequency and it's been like, and it's been private businesses. Yeah. It hasn't been the government. It's been private businesses that have been creating these kinds of hotlines where you can call and be like, okay. And then they get lawyers involved. Okay. Is this person being, you know, and so, uh, transparency is a very powerful thing. And the more eyes you get on something, sometimes you can fix it. Yeah.

00:20:15.520 Up next, my conversation with a whistleblower in this process, an exclusive interview with a former sober home operator named Malcolm. Now we're going to get his side and his take on the Florida rehab shuffle. Malcolm and I spoke a little earlier. Take a listen.

00:20:35.940 Can you start by just telling us for maybe someone who doesn't know what is a sober home and what is the objective and the best of circumstances to help people?

00:20:44.360 For sober home or for addicts that were, are trying to transition their life and, you know, back into the world. And the sober home is supposed to, you know, give the addict a place to live and send them to pretty much ERP or IOP with the treatment center. And from there, from there, help them get their life back together.

00:21:04.440 And is it your belief that all sober homes in the market are above board, honest there to help the addicts? Or is there a dark underbelly of this industry?

00:21:14.360 I believe there's a dark underbelly of this industry. Everybody's not in it, so you pretty much help the client.

00:21:20.540 And tell me what you've seen that makes you think that.

00:21:25.180 I've seen a lot of things. I've seen where, you know, halfway houses, you know, mistreat the clients or, hey, they might kick them out. You know, it's pretty much an insurance game for the people. 0.99

00:21:36.460 And if they don't have good insurance, they'll kick them out of it. They do numerous things to hurt the client.

00:21:41.920 And is it your belief that the incentives and insurance are to keep people maybe in treatment rather than make sure that they graduate from it?

00:21:53.220 Absolutely. I think a lot of people that own halfway houses, it's a money game for them. 0.98

00:21:58.100 And the treatment center, too, is pretty much a money game for them.

00:22:00.780 You know, but you have to have a treatment center or a halfway house owner that really cares about people. 0.99

00:22:07.660 And from there, they can transition into living, you know, sober life again.

00:22:13.060 Malcolm, my reporting suggests that there are people who show up as brokers to AA meetings, NA meetings, and recruit people under false pretenses.

00:22:24.780 Are you aware of that practice?

00:22:27.640 Yes, they do have people like that.

00:22:29.980 Like you say, they call them brokers where they pretty much go to AA classes or drugs, anonymous classes, and they sit and they, well, they can plot on, hey, I have a better halfway house for you if you come to this one.

00:22:42.360 And that's what they do. You're absolutely right. It's like a black market. 0.75

00:22:45.700 And do they get a kickback or a benefit if they recruit people to a particular place?

00:22:51.220 Absolutely. That's the only way they would be doing it unless it was some profit involved.

00:22:57.560 And so, as you've operated a sober home, what are some of the things that people have told you maybe about some of the other places they've been and the challenges they've had there?

00:23:08.980 Well, some of the challenges were that they would go to sober homes and in the sober homes they would be doing drugs in the sober house.

00:23:16.280 Or they would go to a sober home that was not in a good area where they can just walk outside and purchase drugs or something like that.

00:23:24.160 Or it can be the person that owns the house. He, you know, doesn't have a good tech.

00:23:29.080 A tech is the person that watches over the people that's in the house and, you know, that person could be selling them drugs, too.

00:23:34.620 So it's a lot of ins and outs to the business.

00:23:38.160 Our federal government puts billions of dollars into sober homes, into treatment, into all of these ways to try to help addicts.

00:23:46.580 What advice would you give about how to ensure that these terrible drug dens don't trap addicts unwittingly?

00:23:54.620 Well, I think what you have to do is the number one thing is you have to give them something to fight off the craving.

00:24:03.140 Like you have some boxing, you might have methadone, you might have, you know, other ways of fighting the drug.

00:24:09.740 But a drug can't cure another drug.

00:24:12.560 They need something where it's, you know, natural or they need to, you know, they need to make it where it is now.

00:24:18.640 Where in order to have a halfway house, you have to have a treatment center, too.

00:24:22.500 You can't have one and not have the other.

00:24:25.360 And what are the relationships that the halfway houses have with the treatment centers?

00:24:29.060 Do they just basically trade people back and forth or are they really trying to improve people's lives?

00:24:35.080 Well, it depends on who the halfway house owner is and who the treatment center is. 0.78

00:24:39.220 Good point.

00:24:40.140 I would say, yes, it's all about a money game.

00:24:43.600 And you can say it's pretty much insurance fraud because it's based on your insurance.

00:24:47.400 If the person doesn't have insurance, they're not going to house them.

00:24:50.040 And are the insurance companies aware of this fraud that's happening?

00:24:54.680 Do they do anything to police it?

00:24:57.380 Well, I believe that they're aware, but I don't know if they're doing anything to police it.

00:25:02.540 And when people have done well in recovery at your sober home, what have been the experiences that you've seen have led people to a better path and a better life?

00:25:16.120 I think sometimes one of the greatest things that can lead you to a better life is faith in yourself.

00:25:23.780 You know, you have to have that.

00:25:26.040 Something has to be in you saying that, hey, I don't want to do this no more.

00:25:29.160 I don't want to live a life where, you know, I'm doing drugs every day or I have to go to detox because I was on heroin yesterday.

00:25:35.460 So I have to go to detox today or either do more heroin.

00:25:38.400 You have to have faith in yourself.

00:25:40.220 And like I used to tell my clients, I always told them, the only way you're going to be sober is two ways, either dead or alive.

00:25:47.260 And that's up to you.

00:25:48.860 Hey, that is a great message.

00:25:51.180 And, you know, what's so frustrating is that in government, we think if we just keep spending more money, that that's what's going to make people better.

00:25:57.440 And you're totally right.

00:25:58.860 You hit the nail on the head.

00:25:59.960 It's all about someone finding in themselves the ability to battle addiction.

00:26:05.060 And, you know, sometimes that comes from a higher power.

00:26:07.320 Sometimes it comes from faith, family member, children, something that you want to live for.

00:26:12.440 And just moving people around in the system doesn't seem like a great way, a great way to help them.

00:26:18.060 So, you know, how if someone were really wanting help and they didn't know whether they were being recruited by a broker for a good place or a bad place,

00:26:27.920 what advice would you give them about some of the first things that might tell you that your road to recovery is, in fact, this money game you described and not something that really can help?

00:26:39.380 Well, I think the first would be the tell sign would be the people in the house.

00:26:44.280 If they're regularly getting high, then you know that's not the sober house you need to be in.

00:26:49.860 And if they don't have a program telling you where, hey, you have this amount of time to get yourself together and this amount of time,

00:26:56.680 and they're not taking you to AA meetings and, you know, meetings like that, then that's not the sober house for you.

00:27:02.520 So people should observe the path to recovery that others are on that are in that environment.

00:27:09.040 And if it looks like it's unsuccessful, well, then it's just a game, right?

00:27:14.620 Absolutely. I agree with you 100%.

00:27:16.760 Now, this has been very helpful.

00:27:19.140 I mean, what do you think is the worst thing you've ever seen come out of one of these bad sober homes or bad treatment centers?

00:27:26.620 Like the worst story you've heard?

00:27:28.840 Well, I think probably the worst story I heard was it was a guy named Kenny Chapman.

00:27:33.440 And every client I used to get who was at his treatment center used to always tell me, hey, Kenny's prostituting the girls. 0.58

00:27:41.220 He's stealing our medication. He's, you know, abusing us.

00:27:44.980 And I used to, you know, I used to first, the first like four, three or four of you think, maybe they're just lying.

00:27:49.760 But you got to realize that if five or six people telling you the same story, they're not lying.

00:27:55.580 Like, he was really abusing the clients.

00:27:57.460 And at the end of the day, hey, the government did step in and take him to jail.

00:28:01.840 I think he's facing life in jail.

00:28:03.420 He'll never get out.

00:28:04.100 Do you think there are other Kenny Chapmans out there right now doing the exact same thing to people?

00:28:09.580 Absolutely. I believe so.

00:28:11.840 All right. Let's end on a positive note.

00:28:13.580 What what would be the best story, the best circumstance that would give people hope that you've seen the capability to find that thing in yourself to turn your life around?

00:28:24.180 Well, I've seen lots of people, you know, not their parents.

00:28:28.880 You have to have once your parents get in your life, you have a good support cast.

00:28:34.100 I think that's the best thing.

00:28:35.540 And I've seen kids that had a good support cast.

00:28:38.140 They go on to be reporters, go on to, you know, redo their life in a whole nother momentum.

00:28:44.080 Like I know one guy, hey, he's right now he's a lawyer and he was he was almost dead at one time.

00:28:50.620 You know, he's he overdosed.

00:28:51.880 He came through a life of pretty much on drugs all his life, so a life of sobriety where he hasn't looked back in.

00:28:58.960 He's been sober for like three, four years.

00:29:01.600 You know what? It can happen if people find that thing in themselves.

00:29:04.700 Like you say, if they have the right treatment, the right path, the right supporting cast.

00:29:09.300 Addiction does not have to be a permanent condition of entrapment.

00:29:14.140 You can you can liberate yourself from the worst elements of it.

00:29:18.300 And Malcolm, thank you for doing your part to get folks on that road.

00:29:22.820 And thanks for sharing your perspective on the industry with folks.

00:29:25.920 Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

00:29:27.580 And you have a great day. God bless.

00:29:31.420 Now that we've broken down this hellacious cycle of abuse and gotten firsthand testimony from people heavily involved in different aspects of the process,

00:29:39.980 what are we supposed to do to fix it?

00:29:41.400 Well, we all know that Congress isn't very good at dealing with too much of anything,

00:29:48.000 but particularly issues like the opioid epidemic that require more than just a nationwide cash waterfall for people who are abusing addicts.

00:29:58.440 As we saw with Obamacare, again, forcing insurance companies to cover drug rehabilitation in what functionally becomes a relapse washing machine.

00:30:09.200 Well, that's not an essential health benefit.

00:30:12.680 Sometimes even the most well-meaning architects of this policy allow for the Florida rehab shuffle to occur as a result of unintended consequences of the legislation.

00:30:24.240 And it's still happening.

00:30:26.940 According to the Palm Beach Post,

00:30:28.600 In July of 2021,

00:30:30.320 a 54-year-old man wanted on patient brokering charges was arrested aboard a catamaran in the Bahamas.

00:30:38.700 How about that?

00:30:40.040 And now he faces extradition.

00:30:42.260 In November of last year,

00:30:43.920 the DOJ convicted two owners and operators of a South Florida treatment and detox center.

00:30:49.940 And in those cases,

00:30:51.640 it was the Second Chance Detox LLC and the WAR Network LLC, respectively.

00:30:58.280 These two men,

00:30:59.520 Daniel Markovich and Bow Harbor,

00:31:02.700 unlawfully billed,

00:31:03.980 listen to this,

00:31:05.500 $112 million in treatment

00:31:09.460 that was either never rendered

00:31:11.440 or never medically necessary.

00:31:13.920 A Boca Raton doctor pled guilty in July to roughly $17 million in insurance fraud.

00:31:20.700 That was his piece of the Florida rehab shuffle.

00:31:23.820 Dr. Citrin was improperly prescribing controlled substances to residents of sober homes.

00:31:28.680 Imagine that.

00:31:29.220 You go to a sober home and it turns out to be a drug den.

00:31:33.140 And most recently,

00:31:34.860 Chapters Recovery Treatment Center in Delray Beach

00:31:37.400 was found guilty on 48 counts of patient brokering.

00:31:42.280 Just moving people through the system

00:31:44.400 and collecting their money.

00:31:47.100 Once again,

00:31:48.300 these type of people,

00:31:49.640 the Kenny Chavans of the world, 0.75

00:31:51.060 they see vulnerable addicts as insurance policies with legs.

00:31:55.460 This is more than just some blue-collar insurance scandal or fraud or scheme.

00:32:01.220 This is treating human beings as commodities.

00:32:04.760 And it must end.

00:32:06.280 The problem still exists.

00:32:08.280 It's happening in America today.

00:32:10.320 And it's not like Congress hasn't been willing to throw money at the problem.

00:32:14.500 Just like Chris Chella and I discussed,

00:32:16.660 since 2017,

00:32:18.480 the federal government has spent trillions of dollars

00:32:21.300 in an attempt to combat the opioid crisis.

00:32:24.060 I mean,

00:32:24.300 it's like,

00:32:24.980 like,

00:32:25.280 like,

00:32:25.880 crazy to me how much money we spend on this

00:32:28.180 with a result

00:32:29.560 that only leads our people sicker and more addicted.

00:32:32.940 Between fiscal year 2017 and 2018,

00:32:35.180 the federal government spent nearly $11 billion

00:32:38.380 and created 57 federal programs

00:32:41.400 dedicated to curbing the epidemic.

00:32:44.320 So,

00:32:44.660 so to cure addiction with addicts,

00:32:47.240 we go get addicted in Congress

00:32:49.020 to creating new government programs

00:32:50.740 that in turn,

00:32:52.120 turns around and addicts people.

00:32:53.960 According to the Pew Charitable Trust's report,

00:32:56.800 this epidemic is costing the federal government

00:32:58.860 at least $78 billion a year.

00:33:01.420 These addicts,

00:33:03.440 they end up in our criminal justice system.

00:33:05.340 We pay for that.

00:33:06.460 They end up in our parole system.

00:33:07.920 We pay for that.

00:33:09.000 They end up in our emergency rooms

00:33:10.640 with broken bones and other ailments.

00:33:12.980 They cause harm to others in times.

00:33:15.560 And then that has to be

00:33:16.760 a part of the financial cost of addiction in America.

00:33:21.380 And the number is increasing dramatically.

00:33:23.420 Just this past May,

00:33:25.520 President Biden announced

00:33:26.580 a $1.5 billion funding opportunity

00:33:29.700 for state opioid response grants.

00:33:33.740 It's another drop in the bucket,

00:33:35.900 but is it really helping us to quell the issue?

00:33:39.700 Now, we agree there's some good that's been done,

00:33:41.960 certainly having life-saving Narcan.

00:33:44.580 Well, that's resulted in people

00:33:47.040 being still alive today

00:33:48.680 who otherwise would have perished.

00:33:51.440 Local and state policies

00:33:52.680 should have been enacted

00:33:53.600 to deal with Narcan long ago, frankly.

00:33:55.920 And in the state of Florida, we did.

00:33:57.280 I remember voting for the Narcan legislation

00:33:59.980 as a state representative.

00:34:02.520 But the key is preventing the addicts

00:34:04.820 from becoming victims

00:34:05.920 in a financial hustle

00:34:08.260 where scammers are looking to make a quick buck

00:34:11.520 rather than provide any lasting treatment.

00:34:14.400 People seeking treatment

00:34:15.240 should not be subject to this abuse.

00:34:17.340 And we're going to do everything in our power

00:34:19.160 to end the revolving door of suffering.

00:34:22.820 So if you are struggling with addiction of any kind,

00:34:25.840 stay strong.

00:34:26.960 Know that there are good people out there

00:34:29.440 who do want to help you.

00:34:31.040 And you cannot ever lose hope in that.

00:34:33.840 I've seen proof that as human beings,

00:34:36.560 we have the ability to defeat this disease.

00:34:40.260 We have to have the will

00:34:41.460 and we cannot have the government of the United States

00:34:44.300 making it worse.

00:34:46.220 Thanks so much for joining us

00:34:47.380 for this special investigative edition of Firebrand,

00:34:50.620 looking at the issue of addiction in America.

00:34:52.940 And we will have updates

00:34:54.420 regarding funding issues

00:34:56.420 and policy changes

00:34:57.580 that must be different.

00:35:00.360 Roll the credits.

00:35:00.940 We'll see you next time.

The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - August 29, 2022

Episode 67 LIVE： The Florida Rehab Shuffle – Firebrand with Matt Gaetz

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