New California Addiction Treatment Laws Will Change Standard Of Care, Prohibit ‘Patient Brokering’ & Require Greater Transparency

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is in the process of implementing five new laws to impose stronger regulation on the state's addiction treatment provider organizations. Key provisions of the laws will change the addiction treatment field in California by setting a standard of care based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) treatment criteria, prohibiting a referral practice called “patient brokering,” and requiring greater transparency about the financial relationships between addiction treatment provider organizations and sober living homes.

The five laws, with a few exceptions, go into effect 90 days after the legislative session ends . . .