ST PAUL, Minn. — As a spring snowstorm buffeted the Minnesota statehouse, winds of change were blowing inside.
“We want to make sure that people who are peers are there to support people on their recovery journey and not just billing for the sake of billing,” said Rep. Luke Frederick (DFL – Mankato).
Rep. Frederick says his proposal would increase oversight of so-called peer recovery programs – where people with at least a year of recovery are paid by taxpayers to mentor those still battling addiction.
“Peers are one of, if not the most, impactful resource to aid in addiction recovery,” Frederick said.
The reform bill is meant to address issues exposed by KARE 11’s investigation into addiction recovery services billed to taxpayers by a company called Kyros and its nonprofit partner Refocus Recovery.
In a series of reports, former clients told KARE 11 that taxpayers were billed for services they were never provided.
“Some of the events were just, like, made up,” Daniel Schulz said after reviewing bills submitted for services he supposedly received.
Former Kyros workers said they were instructed to bill in ways the law does not allow.
Ruby McNiff showed KARE 11 text messages in which a Kyros supervisor told her she could bill taxpayers for group outings by listing them as back-to-back, one-on-one encounters.
“You’d meet with a group of people from say 4 to 6, but then bill it as if they were 12 to 2, 2 to 4, 4 to 6?” asked KARE 11’s A. J. Lagoe.
“Correct,” McNiff replied. “I thought, 'Oh, this is awesome. I can get paid for this – multiple times!'”
Increased oversight
Rep. Frederick says his bill would help put the emphasis on people’s recovery, rather than profit.
“This is just ensuring that those kind of – I’ll say abuses – don’t happen in the future,” Frederick said.
Lawmakers pointed to KARE 11’s disclosure that Kyros held contests to see which of its peers could bill the most hours.
“When any company is all like, ‘Hey there’s going to be a competition this month so who can turn in the most hours?’ – I ask you; I ask anyone – is that about someone’s treatment? Or is that a competition to see who can bill the most hours to bring in the most Medicaid dollars?” Frederick told KARE 11.
Representative Frederick’s bill bans peer providers from being independent contractors in order to reduce the risk of perverse billing incentives and better protect workers. It also makes clear that concerns about peer services can be brought to the Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Ombudsman Lisa Harrison-Hadler spoke in favor of the bill, which would expand her duties to include reviewing complaints and other issues related to peer recovery support services.
The bill has bipartisan support and the backing of much of Minnesota’s Recovery Community including MARCO - the Minnesota Alliance of Recovery Community Organizations.
“It not only serves to protect potentially vulnerable individuals from predatory employers, it ensures Minnesota’s compliance with the U.S. updated labor regulations aimed at preventing employee misclassification,” Randy Anderson, the founder of Bold North Recovery, told members of the House Human Services Finance Committee Tuesday.
“We’ve got some issues out there that we have to get right!” said Rep. Dave Baker (R – Willmar).
While reforms move forward in the legislature, there are also multiple official investigations underway into what KARE 11 exposed.
Officials from Kyros and Refocus Recovery have declined repeated requests for on-camera interviews. In written statements they’ve said if billing errors are found, the money will be refunded.
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