Kentucky’s largest addiction recovery provider has suddenly closed four additional residential facilities in the state as an FBI investigation into possible Medicaid fraud remains ongoing.
Addiction Recovery Care, which once had nearly 40 treatment centers across the commonwealth, has now closed nine facilities in two months.
Kyle Collier, ARC spokesperson, attributed the closures to “the impending and significant sector-wide cuts to addiction and mental health services,” which forced ARC to continue making difficult decisions about locations and staffing.
The Sanibel House in Catlettsburg, Lake Hill Oasis in Somerset, Belle Grove Springs in Wallingford and Beth’s Blessing in Tyner were closed as of Wednesday, Collier said.
“These decisions were not made lightly and we are committed to supporting our team members and communities affected by these changes,” Collier said in an emailed statement. “Above all, the safety and care of our clients remains our top priority.”
The statement did not say how many employee positions were terminated or whether customers were laid off.
When the locations are searched online, a red banner indicates that the facilities are temporarily closed. At least one of the location’s Facebook pages is listed as “temporarily unavailable.”
ARC is the largest contributor to Kentucky’s distinction of having the most residential treatment beds per capita in the country.
Just three months ago, the FBI launched an investigation into the recovery network for possible health care fraud. ARC has not been charged and is cooperating with the investigation.
Just a month after the investigation began, ARC closed five flagship locations in Louisa: Carpenter’s Village, Karen’s Place, Blackberry, Lackey House and May Hill. These abrupt closures resulted in an unknown number of layoffs and the transportation of dozens of customers to other facilities.
When the first round of closures was announced, Collier said the company had to make “difficult decisions” due to “pending and significant cuts to addiction and mental health services.”
He said the closures were not related to the FBI investigation.
By October 3, the FBI had received 400 responses to their requests, asking current and former employees and clients if they had been “victimized by ARC.”
