Largest U.S. Chain of Methadone Clinics Falsifies Records, New York Times Investigation Finds

The largest chain of methadone clinics in the United States, Acadia Healthcare, falsifies records at its clinics and enrolls patients who do not have opioid use disorder, according to an investigation by The New York Times.

While regulations require the clinics to provide counseling and other services such as drug testing in addition to methadone, Acadia often fails to provide counseling, the investigation found. Instead, employees at the clinics sometimes falsify the medical records that the company uses to bill insurers.

Acadia counselors have caseloads that are sometimes more than double the limit allowed by state regulators. Clinic directors can receive bonuses when their patient enrollment increases. This incentive has led Acadia to treat people without opioid use disorder who are dependent on substances drugs, even though regulations require patients to meet medical criteria for opioid addiction to be eligible for treatment at a methadone clinic, and methadone is only effective for treatment of opioid use disorder.

The New York Times found employees at clinics in at least 13 states warned their supervisors about Acadia’s practices.