A former patient is calling out local sober living homes for what is known as "body brokering," where facilities allegedly keep patients sick to prolong their stay and continue billing insurance companies.
Sequoyah Thiessen told KNX News she spent a year being cycled in and out of several sober living homes.
"I had been trying to go to school basically the whole time that I was there," she said. "Continually, I would be kicked out for refusing to relapse or being very adamant that I wanted to actually have resources that were going to enhance my life."
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Thiessen said she's even seen these facilities drugging patients, and when they're no longer sick, and insurance is done paying for them, they get tossed out of the facility without any follow-up care.
She's now advocating for legislation calling for more state oversight when patients raise concerns. She says authorities often dismiss these concerns because many of the patients are struggling to regain credibility.
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