PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WCHS) — The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health is cracking down on fraud and abuse within its system, announcing a temporary freeze on new behavioral health and rehabilitation provider applications statewide.

Officials said the move comes as the state works to rein in oversight issues in a rapidly expanding addiction recovery industry.

Across Ohio, there are thousands of addiction recovery facilities. While many are helping people overcome addiction, state leaders said others are falling short.

“We have more waste and abuse,” Rep. Justin Pizzulli, R-Scioto, said. “The recovery system grew so quickly that our oversight never caught up.”

Pizzulli said that is now beginning to change. The Department of Behavioral Health has implemented a temporary freeze on new providers while developing a stricter review process for incoming applications. The goal is to ensure facilities meet consistent standards before being approved.

Part of the concern stems from questionable billing practices uncovered in some facilities.

“We have a facility that was billing Medicaid in Portsmouth for activities such as pickleball, nap times, hanging Christmas lights and even aromatherapy and other recreational services,” Pizzulli said. “Taxpayers are very confused.”

Officials said the lack of consistent standards has allowed wide variation in the quality of care being offered.

“There’s an issue because there’s a lot out there and there are different degrees of effectiveness,” Pizzulli said.

Some in the treatment community support the crackdown. Kevin Dennis, CEO of Field of Hope, an addiction recovery facility in Gallia County, said increased oversight will ultimately strengthen the system and improve outcomes for patients.

“One of the secrets to success is keeping the rehabilitation of the client first and foremost,” Dennis said. “That’s what’s important and I’m not sure everybody does that.”

State leaders said the new approach will focus on accountability and measurable results.

“This is going to begin a more thorough review process for new behavioral health and rehab provider applications,” Pizzulli said.

One of the key goals is to create clear standards to determine whether facilities are effective and using taxpayer money appropriately. The application freeze is expected to last about one year.

Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber discusses fraud within Ohio’s Medicaid program and explains how big government programs are exploited by individuals.

Lawrence Jones questions Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber about the widespread Medicaid fraud affecting taxpayers. Faber explains that big government programs like Medicaid, operating on a trust-based system, are easily exploited. He highlights disproportionate home healthcare utilization by the Somali community in Columbus, emphasizing that inadequate controls allow people to lie, steal, and cheat the system.

Ohio State University has reached a $100 million settlement with nearly 300 former students who had accused the school’s campus doctor of sexually assaulting them decades ago, the school and a lawyer for the victims said on Wednesday.

The settlement with 279 of the 280 former students was ratified by the university’s board on Wednesday. It followed years of litigation overaccusations of decades of abuse by Richard Strauss.

The abuse occurred from 1978 to 1998, the year he retired from the faculty.

“The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate,” the school and a lawyer for the victims said in a joint statement.

In February, the university reached eight additional settlements, bringing the total to 304 survivors and more than $60 million.

Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, was employed by Ohio State’s athletic department and medical staff for nearly two decades.

A 2019 report detailing the investigative findings said that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 men, nearly all of whom were students, and that university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act. The abuse included groping and fondling of the students’ genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.

News of the investigation and its findings prompted more than 500 plaintiffs to sue Ohio State, alleging they had been sexually abused by Strauss and that the school had shown deliberate indifference.