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As Addiction Deaths Surge, Profit-Driven Rehab Industry Faces 'Severe Ethical Crisis'
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/15/963700736/as-addiction-deaths-surge-profit-driven-rehab-industry-faces-severe-ethical-crisAccording to their peer-reviewed study, published in the February issue of the journal Health Affairs, many for-profit rehab programs charged inflated fees and used misleading sales practices to attract patients without evaluating their actual medical needs.
It turns out the people answering the phones at for-profit rehab programs when Beetham's team called typically weren't nurses or therapists. They often weren't asking medical questions at all.
They were sales people using aggressive marketing tactics to get credit card numbers while demanding a lot of cash up front, averaging more than $17,000. Researchers found the sales pitch at for-profit clincis often focused on things that have nothing to do with medical care.
"It used to be a spa for the rich and famous," a rehab program sales person told one of Beetham's researchers, according to notes of the conversation provided to NPR. "It's got all this extra stuff, outdoor and indoor pools, five-star chef, massage, acupuncture."
It turns out the people answering the phones at for-profit rehab programs when Beetham's team called typically weren't nurses or therapists. They often weren't asking medical questions at all.
They were sales people using aggressive marketing tactics to get credit card numbers while demanding a lot of cash up front, averaging more than $17,000. Researchers found the sales pitch at for-profit clincis often focused on things that have nothing to do with medical care.
"It used to be a spa for the rich and famous," a rehab program sales person told one of Beetham's researchers, according to notes of the conversation provided to NPR. "It's got all this extra stuff, outdoor and indoor pools, five-star chef, massage, acupuncture."
