A 26-year-old man named Kage has shared disturbing claims about body brokering in the rehab industry, alleging some businesses profited from people struggling with substance dependence.
In an interview with Soft White Underbelly on September 14, he described how he recruited people for treatment programs and claimed that some patients received thousands of dollars after leaving detox.
Highlights
- A substance user alleged that some treatment programs offered people thousands of dollars after detox.
- He claimed a California treatment operation grew from one house to 180 in two years.
- Kage described ongoing struggles with substance use and homelessness.
He also spoke about luxury gifts for successful recruiters and the pressure to bring more people into the system.
“It was never for my own benefit,” Kage said.
A 26-year-old ad*ict from Los Angeles revealed he was offered $5,000 after going to rehab
Kage said his experience with body brokering began when he learned that people could receive thousands of dollars after completing a detox program.
In this context, body brokering refers to recruiting people with substance-use problems for treatment programs in exchange for money or other benefits.
A 2023 study published in BMC Health Services Research examined patient brokering through interviews with 20 people with op**id use disorder and 20 professionals in the substance-use treatment field in Southern California.
The researchers identified financial and material incentives, encouragement of substance use, and potential ov**dose risks as recurring concerns.
According to Kage, some people were encouraged to keep using the substances so they could return to rehab and generate more money.
He explained how tempting the offer sounded to someone struggling with dependence.
“What the hell is this, you know, like this sounds amazing? I can get high and then get paid for getting high,” Kage recalled.
“They pay you to get high so you can go into their detox,” he said. “You get out, they give you $5 to $15,000 depending on your insurance.”
The researchers behind the study also reported some participants described receiving money or other incentives to enter treatment.
Kage alleged that people sometimes had to wait before entering another program because repeated insurance claims could raise suspicion. He said the money often went toward illegal substances rather than helping people build a stable life.
Kage claimed one California operation grew from one house to 180
Kage said he later moved into marketing for a treatment operation in California. He claimed the business grew quickly.
“They went from one house to 180 houses in two years, and I helped that happen,” Kage said. “We had 180 houses by the end of two years, from one to 180 in two years,” he said.
Kage claimed that he and other marketers sent people to detox facilities. He also alleged that the operation used different business arrangements to manage its growing network of houses.
According to him, the people responsible for recruiting clients could earn rewards as the business expanded. He said the focus was on bringing in more people, even when those people were still struggling with substance dependence.
He revealed the rewards some successful recruiters received.
“He would buy them cars, get them put in a penthouse, all flashy, whatever they wanted to look like a rapper, diamonds, whatever, bro,” Kage said.
He alleged that the money and gifts made the work look attractive, especially to people who wanted quick cash. “Just so they,” he said, explaining why he believed they offered the rewards.
Kage also said he was using illegal substances during that period and did not feel that the work was helping him get better.
“They were using dr*gs, k*lling themselves the whole time like me,” he said of the people he described. “That's what I was doing, bro.”
Patient brokering can also involve non-cash incentives, such as free housing, transportation, or other material benefits.
In a legal analysis published by the UNC School of Government, Jeff Welty, a professor specializing in criminal law, said, “The fundamental problem is a conflict of interest. Patient brokers are compensated only once for recovery, but may be paid over and over again for relapse and continued a**iction.”
Kage questioned whether the treatment programs he encountered were helping people recover
Kage said he had seen friends continue using illegal substances and had lost people he knew.
When asked whether people got sober in the rehabs he was discussing, he replied, “Oh, very few. Very few.”
He also described the personal toll of seeing people struggle.
“I've had friends d*e over and over,” Kage said. “I've lost a good bit of friends, bro.”
The 2023 study also raised concerns about ov**dose risk. The participants described how returning to substance use after treatment or a period of abstinence could be dangerous, particularly when treatment settings failed to support lasting recovery.
The interview also touched on Kage’s life outside the rehab business.
He said he had experienced homelessness and continued to struggle with f*ntanyl use.
“I ended up getting housing. I have slowed down on f*ntanyl a lot,” he said.
When asked whether having a place to live helped, he said, “That's pretty much all I needed was housing.”
He described how homelessness could make it harder for people to move away from dr*gs because they often remained surrounded by difficult circumstances.
“It's like a cycle, man,” he said.
Patient brokering is also addressed in federal law.
The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 makes certain payments or rewards of referrals to recovery homes and clinical treatment facilities a federal crime, with penalties that can include imprisonment.
"Rehabs work when the person is ready," wrote one netizen
