Townsend Recovery

Townsend Recovery of Louisiana Operates under Wetsman Forensic Medicine. CEO is Michael Handley Townsend Recovery of Louisiana is a complete scam L

13th of Apr, 2011 by User730923

Townsend Recovery of Louisiana was acquired under new management in 2008-2009. The CEO Michael Handley and Chief Medical Officer Dr Howard Wetsman are part owners in this new treatment facility. This treatment is Intensive Outpatient only and what that means is 4 night a weeks for 7 weeks for a total of 28 sessions. You are required to attend AA./NA meetings outside of the program and you are required to provide a urine sample during your treatment. Now this program Townsend Recovery of La offers involves, depending on your treatment, medication. In my case I was prescribed Suboxone because I had a problem with pain medication. Now when I went to sign up, the CEO Michael Handley along with some other people which included a counselor were there to sign me up. I told them that I had a fair amount of cash on me at the time so whatever my insurance does not cover, I want to pay for up front so I did not have to worry about being billed. It was laid out in front of me the total cost of the program was $5900.00. My insurance covered half and I paid the other half in cash. I asked all of them, before I left the office, " are there any other cost that I may receive during this treatment such as urine testing?". I was told by three different Townsend Recovery employees, including the CEO Michael Handley, that there would be no other cost involved. He only said that if there was a problem with the medication and I needed to get back in to see the doctor that there might be another doctor's charge but that is it. So not only did I hear that but my wife and mother heard the same thing.
So I went through the IOP program which was 7 weeks and completed the program. I noticed that I was being drug tested everyday I went in and there were other patients that were only being tested once a week. Now I never failed a drug test since I started the program so there was no reason for me to have no uring test then anyone else. Well I soon found out that Townsend Recovey was sending my urine test out to a company named Ameritox for testing. Ameritox started billing my insurance company for $1500.00 per drug test, which at first I was being tested 4 times a week. On top of that Townsend Recovery did a 10 panel on site test which they were charging my insurnance an additional $265.00 per test. Now remember I was told there were no other cost involved but I was clearly lied too by the CEO of Townsend Recovery Michael Handley. To make this long story a little shorter this $5900.00 7 week program turned into a program that billed my insurance company for over $22,000.00 for this 7 week program. Now half of the billing was from Townsend Recovery and the other half was from Ameritox. I talked with several people at Townsend Recovery and Ameritox and I was constantly told that it was a mistake and it would be corrected. But it never was and still has not and not only have they billed me this way, every patient that had insurance was billed the exact same way. Now the patients that paid cash still owe this company Ameritox $100.00 per test which all were tested at least twice a week which leaves them a balance of app $5000.00 that they had and have no idea they owe.
They are being investigated and keep your eyes peeled because this is going to make the news in Louisiana before the end of 2011. This CEO Michael Handley, before he came to Louisiana, just got finished running the same scam in Daphne, Alabama which when the city start to bring the heat he ran to Louisiana. So I ask the question, why Louisiana? It has been brought to my attention that Louisiana has the largest rate of addiction and relapse in the United States, by double. So this piece of s**t knows this and came hear to Louisiana to cash in. And guess what, he is doing just that. Anyone that would like to debate anything that I have said, please respond because I would love to hear an excuse.

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