SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. - Able To Change Recovery, a family-founded addiction and mental health treatment provider in San Juan Capistrano, is encouraging Orange County families to slow down and ask specific questions before choosing a rehab. With a crowded field of programs advertising across Southern California, people searching for help in the middle of a crisis often have little way to tell a carefully run program from one built around filling beds.
The concern is not new. Southern California has faced years of public scrutiny over patient brokering, the practice of paying people to steer patients toward a particular facility. In 2018, Congress passed the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act as part of the SUPPORT Act, making it a federal crime to knowingly pay or receive kickbacks for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, or laboratories. The law applies regardless of who pays for treatment, including private insurance, and each violation can carry a fine of up to $200,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
"Families usually call at the worst moment of their lives, and that is exactly when a bad actor has the most leverage," said Saralyn Cohen, Chief Executive Officer of Able To Change Recovery. "A good program welcomes hard questions. If someone gets evasive about licensing, about who is paying them, or about what treatment will actually look like, that tells a family what it needs to know."
The first question is whether a program is licensed. In California, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) licenses residential substance use disorder treatment facilities and certifies outpatient programs. State law requires these programs to disclose their license or certification information and to tell prospective clients, on their websites and intake forms, that status can be checked on the DHCS website. Families can also ask whether a program holds independent accreditation, such as from The Joint Commission, which evaluates programs against clinical quality and patient safety standards. Able To Change Recovery is licensed by DHCS for substance use disorder and mental health treatment under License #300118BP and is accredited by The Joint Commission.
Beyond licensing, Cohen points to several warning signs. An offer of cash, travel, or a place to stay in exchange for entering a specific program is a serious red flag. So is a referral from a hotline or "consultant" that will not say which facilities it works with or how it is compensated. Pressure to commit before any clinical assessment, vague or shifting answers about insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs, and a recommended level of care with no clear explanation behind it are all reasons to keep looking.
Able To Change Recovery, which has provided drug and alcohol rehab serving Orange County families for more than 26 years, begins every client's care with a bio-psycho-social assessment that determines the appropriate level of care. Depending on that assessment, treatment may include residential care, a structured partial hospitalization program, or intensive outpatient treatment that allows clients to keep up with work, school, and family. Because many people struggling with substance use also live with depression, anxiety, or trauma, the program treats co-occurring mental health conditions alongside addiction rather than separately. The admissions team verifies insurance before treatment begins, and the program is in-network with most major insurance carriers.
"The right level of care should come from a clinical assessment, not a sales pitch," Cohen said. "Some people need residential treatment. Others are better served in a partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient program. Families deserve a straight answer about which one fits and why, before anyone signs anything."
Able To Change Recovery serves adults from across Orange County and Southern California, including Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, San Clemente, Lake Forest, and Rancho Santa Margarita, from its drug and alcohol rehab in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Families with questions about a program they are considering can contact the admissions team for a confidential conversation about treatment options and insurance coverage.
About Able To Change Recovery
Able To Change Recovery is a family-founded behavioral health provider in San Juan Capistrano, California, offering addiction treatment and mental health care for adults across Orange County and Southern California. Licensed by the California Department of Health Care Services and accredited by The Joint Commission, the program provides residential treatment, Partial Hospitalization Programming, and Intensive Outpatient Programming for substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and co-occurring diagnoses. https://able2changerecovery.com/
Media Contact
Name
Able To Change Recovery
Contact name
Saralyn Cohen
Contact phone
(949) 334-5698
Contact address
31501 Rancho Viejo Rd
City
San Juan Capistrano
State
CA
Zip
92675
Country
United States
Url
https://able2changerecovery.com/
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