I get my eyes examined like all the time
that's good
we're in contact right now follow my
finger
only with rice on leader eyes on
deterrence we have for profit
organization okay this is a this is not
a non-profit organism right so I have to
be honest with you so when when you are
you are in a business for profit sales
is involved so you sometimes you sell
you sell people on the treatment of
course you have to sell your treatment
because there's so much competition
right look at the hospitals majority of
the hospitals are at for-profit right
only the county hospitals are nonprofit
right right so in health care is
up well I don't know if it's up
but if you know we are getting care
right if you have insurance if you have
money you are getting cured right all
right if you have insurance you have
money if you have month money have
insurance yes you get care
our port our poor people just
straight-up like if you're if
you're poor and empowered you might be
better off I think rich people are
straight-up really because these
people are by easier kinder ways they
choose the programs usually and
they the rich people have in my opinion
they looking for special care this is
not about being special is about
shutting up sitting down stop the
be a person nothing special
let's go and you get special treatment
and you end up not with good outcomes
Michael Jackson got special treatment do
you think as long as we have private
privatized treatment that's like
for-profit and making money that there
will always be sort of these carnivorous
people out there taking advantage of
people in their most desperate there's
always been people like that so I
imagine they're always it's it's one of
the reasons I'm out of the field right
now I'm so devastated by what's
happening it's too painful it's too
painful and and then my patients you
know work work work hard with them and
they get sucked into these things that
aren't offering whatever that are
gratify remember I started by saying
things shouldn't be gratified right same
picture with the family it's a hard work
it's so hard so painful that's the only
thing worse than being the addict is
being the family member because really
what you have to do is sit by well that
person is on the high wire and you know
they're about to fall off and you have
to just sit by and pray to God that that
doesn't end up in disaster Brandon
this is Ted Jake's his son Brandon was
an alcoholic and bulimic who died of
complications related to his eating
disorder while in treatment
Brandon was first admitted to a rehab
center in Arizona called sober way home
they guaranteed they could treat his
dual diagnosis after taking the family's
money however sober way home advised
that Brandon should be moved to an even
pricier treatment facility in California
called Morningside recovery looking back
on it now it's it's like you know was
this planned you know good to get to 30
days here and then live somewhere else
and then but you know somewhere else
but we felt real comfortable with with
sober way home when we were out there
were moving out there and and we we
trusted them you know we've seen the
results we've seen Brandon was you know
was doing good there and and we put a
lot of faith in in their recommendation
and now you found that there was a
financial agreement between sober way
and Morningside well there's something
there you can call it what you want I
think most would call it a kickback to
verify Ted's accusations of a secret
kickback we reached out to Morningside
several times we even made a trip out to
their head office to see if they'd be
willing to set up a meeting yeah we just
we just want we just want to have an
interview but they reneged on the
interview and haven't responded to our
request since so we went behind their
backs and found someone who would talk a
former employee of Morningside agreed to
speak to you under the condition of
anonymity due to the litigation involved
with their former employers practices
they told me quote they were making
referrals back and forth between a sober
way and Morningside you refer a client
to Morningside and they pay a 10% fee of
what they get paid this person went on
to describe the loose admissions process
at Morningside saying if you look at
what they did to Brandon Jake's they
referred him out at a time when
Morningside would just take anybody even
if they were unqualified to treat his
condition
through a deposition we discovered that
first house was also engaged in
kickbacks here the owner relates
patients like Brandon to dirty laundry
we finally got in to see the see David
gates I said you know I want to see
where Brandon was staying
he said that's impossible because of
confidentiality reasons I said look you
know I want to I want to see where he
stayed I said you know this poor kid you
know died 2,000 miles away from home I
said I want to I want to be a part of it
I never got to talk to him I want to I
want to see that stuff and then it
finally came out that well he wasn't
there he was at first house and I go
what's a place called first yeah what
what is first house he goes first house
detox he said I said why is he at first
house and he said that he had patients
needing more critical care we know now
that they weren't providing
psychological care they know we know
that they weren't monitoring his is his
intake or his purging I'm not totally
convinced that they were monitoring his
potassium you know on that on the day
that he passed away
first house where Brandon's condition
became critical clothes after having at
least two other deaths on their watch
first house owners have opened up a new
facility called Orange County recovery
services with virtually the same staff
Morningside losses license for detox due
to numerous regulatory violations but
still runs quasi legal addiction
treatment programs in Southern
California the Jake's reached a
settlement with Morningside recovery for
3.7 million dollars they are currently
pursuing a wrongful death suit against
the sober way home and first house detox
in 2013 drug overdose has killed more
than 30,000 people in the u.s. they're
responsible for more dead Americans than
firearms simply put we're in the midst
of an epidemic and after taking a good
hard look at what many Americans see as
the best treatment money can buy it's
clear that our best just isn't cutting
it
there are many people who work in the
high-end rehab world with the best
intentions but as dr. Mohamed told me
inside his swanky addiction center they
don't offer treatment they sell it it's
not good intentions that fuel this
thirty five billion dollar industry
it's dollar signs