A powerful new book, Fighting the Florida Shuffle, co-authored by former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg and “Morning Joe” Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Dave Campbell, offers an unflinching look into the dark underbelly of the addiction treatment industry, revealing how profit-driven schemes are preying on vulnerable individuals seeking recovery. With a passionate forward written by Joe Scarborough, the book dissects the systemic failures that have allowed unscrupulous actors to infiltrate and exploit the multi-billion-dollar drug treatment enterprise.
Fighting the Florida Shuffle goes beyond the well-documented origins of the opioid epidemic, ignited by the aggressive marketing of OxyContin by Purdue Pharma, to expose a new, equally insidious threat: the corruption within the very industry designed to offer hope. While the Affordable Care Act mandates insurance coverage for drug treatment and classifies addiction as a preexisting condition, Aronberg and Campbell reveal the tragic consequences when this well-intentioned framework is manipulated for illicit gain.
The authors share gripping accounts of victims lured with false promises, including free plane tickets, into substandard outpatient rehab facilities and squalid “sober homes.” These individuals, often in desperate need of legitimate care, too frequently end up in ambulances or body bags, leaving behind grieving families.
Drawing on their insider perspectives from law enforcement and medicine, Aronberg and Campbell also provide an in-depth analysis of how corporate malfeasance fueled the alarming rise in opioid overdoses; practical guidance for families on how to identify and avoid deceptive rehab scams; and the inspiring story of a community that successfully fought back, cleaning up the drug treatment industry and bringing the worst offenders to justice.
“Drug treatment has become a thriving enterprise, but the profit motive has lured predators to exploit the vulnerable who seek help,” Campbell said.
“As rogue rehab owners line their pockets through insurance fraud, patient brokering and illegal kickbacks, their victims leave behind grieving families and loved ones, who wonder how the insurance coverage thought to be a lifeline led to increased overdose and premature death,” Aronberg added.
Fighting the Florida Shuffle is a critical and timely exposé, serving as an urgent call to action for policymakers, families and communities to confront the pervasive corruption in the addiction treatment landscape and protect those most in need.
