Lawmakers hope he signs bills into law; others hope for bolder action
Excerpted from the Orange County Register
By Teri Sforza
Deadly fentanyl infects street drugs. Overdose deaths are skyrocketing. And more treatment is the solution, many say — even as fraud and tragedy continue to plague the private-pay, insurance-money-fattened slice of the addiction treatment industry.
After a pandemic pause, lawmakers intent on reforming the rules that regulate California’s dysfunctional drug and alcohol recovery industry have sent several bills to the governor’s desk. Their hope is that the new rules will protect consumers without stifling an industry that aims to fight an ongoing drug epidemic.
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Another bill would require recovery programs that get any government money to carry commercial and professional liability insurance. That requirement, supporters say, would bring higher standards to the industry and protect patients when things go wrong.
“For any facility that’s getting government dollars — our tax dollars — we have to make sure those resources are going to legitimate providers,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Laguna Beach, the bill’s author. “The goal is to use insurance to protect people in recovery, and I think it’s going to be a game changer in raising standards in substance use treatment. It will ensure we’re weeding out the fly-by-night scammers.”