IL Senate OKs Bill Targeting Behavioral Health Patient Brokering

(Springfield, IL) – Bipartisan-backed legislation that tightens the legal screws on “patient brokers” targeting Illinois residents struggling with opioid addiction and other behavioral health illnesses by marketing expensive, questionable ‘treatment’ services, a measure newly dubbed “Protect Against Lindsay Lohan’s Dad Act” by proponents, has been approved by the full Illinois Senate.

The legislation, Senate Bill 2312, sponsored by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), among other things, bans treatment provider employee or independent consultant compensation based on “volume or value” of patient referrals, according to Illinois Association for Behavioral Health CEO Jud DeLoss, who initiated the bill idea.

DeLoss cited the recent incident involving Michael Lohan, father of actor Lindsay Lohan, who was arrested on April 23 by Palm Beach County sheriffs on five counts of patient brokering and one count of conspiracy to commit patient brokering. A Florida-based drug treatment center allegedly paid Lohan or a business with links to Lohan more than $27,000 in kickbacks.

“The patient brokering charge against Michael Lohan, regarding $27,000 in so-called ‘referral fees’ is precisely the offense that our legislation targets,” said DeLoss. “This bill squeezes out the financial incentive for employees or consultants to recruit patients, prohibiting compensation based on volume or value of treatment, and that’s why we have dubbed it the ‘Protection Against Lindsay Lohan’s Dad Act.’”

DeLoss highlighted that Senate Bill 2312, which passed the upper chamber 58-08 on April 23, is also an “update” of the 2018 Illinois patient brokering law, which was also championed by the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health and sponsored by Feigenholtz when serving in the Illinois House, that targeted misleading and unscrupulous marketing of substance use treatment services.

“Scam artists marketing fraudulent drug treatment providers have mushroomed since the opioid crisis exploded in Illinois, and they remain on the scene,” said DeLoss. “Thus, we have to update our current anti-patient brokering law to stay one-step ahead of them.”

Patient brokers are “predators,” Feigenholtz says.

“Patient brokers operate like predators, pushing disreputable drug treatment programs on families who are desperate to find treatment for opioid addiction and mental illness for their loved ones,” said Feigenholtz. “This legislation, Senate Bill 2312, builds on the 2018 law that I sponsored to dry up ‘referral fees’ for brokers, whether facility employees or independent contractors, based on volume or value of treatment referrals.”

Illinois is among only 12 states that have behavioral health-specific anti-patient brokering laws, according to a March 9, 2021 Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability report commissioned by Feigenholtz. The other states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.

“Illinois is a leader among a handful of other states that is attacking behavioral health-specific patient brokering,” said Feigenholtz. “I am proud of that fact.”

DeLoss noted that the new state legislation will also streamline compliance obligations under the federal Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA), which also took aim at patient-brokering. Although the Illinois law is broader and more protective than its federal counterpart, the bill will ensure against can be taken against those that offer, solicit, or enter into these schemes, while detailing those actions that reputable providers may take when reaching out to families in need of treatment services.

Feigenholtz’s bill will be sponsored in the Illinois House by State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford).

davidormsby@davidormsby.com