The rehab subsector is a big industry in the US. The number of drug abusers increases each passing day. Statistically, 23 million Americans aged above 12 years have abused drugs. Out of the 23 million, it is only 9.8% who have been treated. Because of this large number, there is an increasing number of rehabs. Some of the rehabs ethically handle patients are devoted to assisting clients to ensure that they abandon the habit of drug and alcohol abuse. It is disturbing that some of the rehabs that exist do not offer the best quality services to patients and are out not only to exploit them but also to abuse the struggling addicts as well. this article I meant to explore some of the disturbing offences committed in some centres and why restrictions must be imposed.
- High demand for rehab-There is a high demand for rehabs in the US and Florida in particular due to the ever-increasing statistics of alcohol and drug abusers. Statistically, in the US, alcohol addiction has hit 15.1 million, cannabis disorders stand at 4 million, pain relief disorder recorded 1.8 million, cocaine disorder is at 867,000 while stimulant disorder is at 540,000. These staggering figures require a vibrant and rehab industry that I well equipped to handle the cases. But unfortunately, most of the centres exploit patients and abuse their rights. This is attributable to the fact that these centres do not have laws that control them.
- Addiction treatment is a lucrative business-The addiction recovery market generates above $35 billion a year. It is estimated that by the year 2020, the industry will hit $42 billion. In spite of these huge figures, the industry is unregulated, the prices are not controlled and there is no guarantee of a patient fully recovering after attending these programs. In Florida, there are approximately 2000 rehabs which are only supervised by 16 inspectors. It is very clear that the 16 supervisors are not enough to supervise an industry that is out to make big money. For instance, from one patient, the rehab can make a lot of money through various aspects like professional counselling, residential detox, inpatient drug rehab, intensive programs, etc. There is a huge list of services that are offered to a single person who are very expensive. With the huge amount minted from one person, most of the programs see an addict as a commodity that can be used to generate income for their business.
- Abuse of mandatory coverage-Most rehab centres take advantage of the vulnerability of the patient and may exploit them. In case the patient has a medical cover, the rehabs ensure that they introduce all forms of exploitative programs to milk the patient dry.