Radio Program 'In Your Right Mind' Discusses Senate Bill 636 in a New Broadcast on 790 AM KABC

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "In Your Right Mind," a weekly radio program that features in-depth roundtable discussions of today's leading behavioral health headlines, aired an informative show called, "SB 636: Protecting California's Most Vulnerable Patients," on Sunday, November 5, at 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Talk Radio 790 AM KABC Los Angeles. The broadcast focused on Senate Bill 636, a new California bill that aims to ban some of the harmful practices in the addiction treatment and recovery industry — "patient brokering" and "pay-to-patient" by insurance companies. The show is hosted by Tonmoy Sharma, M.B.B.S., M.Sc., founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Health, who provides an in-depth medical and clinical expertise, and co-host Stefanie Wilder-Taylor.

The broadcast, "SB 636: Protecting California's Most Vulnerable Patients," included guest speaker Joan Borsten, co-founder of the Malibu Beach Recovery Center. She served as CEO until 2014 and expanded operations to include a women's only facility in West Los Angeles. Both treatment centers and an affiliated Intensive Outpatient Program have been acquired by RiverMend Health, and Joan now works with them as senior advisor. She wrote Malibu Beach Recovery Diet Cookbook with four of the Malibu Beach Recovery Center chefs as part of her commitment to help her alumni as well as addicts around the world maintain long-term sobriety.

"Twenty-nine states have passed similar legislation to SB 636, but California, which is normally a very progressive state, seems to be falling behind when it comes to the treatment industry," says Dr. Sharma.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Health Care Services of adult alcoholism and drug abuse recovery and treatment facilities. The department also requires that an individual providing counseling services working within an alcohol and drug abuse recovery and treatment program be registered with or certified by a certifying organization approved by the department to register and certify counselors.

This bill would prohibit certain persons, programs, or entities, including substance use disorder treatment program and persons employed by that program, from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking substance use disorder treatment services and would authorize the department to investigate and take specified disciplinary action against those persons or programs for violating those prohibitions.

"When the bill was first presented to Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) it included an outlaw for pay to patient for the field of addiction," says Ms. Borsten. "This is a horrible idea when it comes to patients in this field. There are cases where a patient is in the early stages of recovery and they receive a check to pay for their treatment, but instead, they go a purchase substances and overdose. This ended up not being a good practice, and the original bill was set to stop patient brokering."

If the topic of patient brokering is of interest, on October 10, In Your Right Mind aired an informative show called, "Patient Brokering," which discussed bad people who take advantage of vulnerable patients by luring them in and out of treatment by bribes or financial incentives, so they can make a profit.

For those who are interested in listening to this past show, previous episodes of "In Your Right Mind" shows are available on iTunes or on demand. For additional questions pertaining to "In Your Right Mind," please visit the website or send questions to [email protected].

One factor that differentiates Sovereign Health from other treatment providers is its ability to offer distinct, specialized treatment programs for patients with mental illness, addiction and dual diagnosis at its facilities. For more information, visit www.sovhealth.com.

About "In Your Right Mind"
"In Your Right Mind" is a weekly behavioral health radio show that covers various topics each week, including mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and addiction/dual diagnosis disorders. Dr. Tonmoy Sharma and Stefanie Wilder-Taylor are the hosts of the show. In addition, each program will feature guest speakers throughout the United States participating in a roundtable discussion about headlines in behavioral health. The mission of "In Your Right Mind" is to raise awareness about behavioral health issues that get people talking. The hour-long show airs every Sunday at 5 p.m. PDT on Talk Radio 790 KABC Los Angeles. "In Your Right Mind" is produced in conjunction with Sovereign Health, a leading national provider of behavioral health treatment services. For more information, visit www.InYourRightMind.com.

SOURCE In Your Right Mind

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