Following Bombshell Report, Schiff Demands Answers from Acadia Healthcare Regarding Wrongfully Detained Patients in Psychiatric Facilities
Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) demanded answers from Acadia Healthcare regarding reports that inpatient psychiatric facilities owned by Acadia Healthcare have wrongfully detained patients under medically unnecessary circumstances.
“A New York Times investigation into your company detailed troubling accounts of abuse, rape, neglect, and unjust confinement of patients throughout Acadia’s network of 54 inpatient psychiatric hospitals. These testimonies – offered by patients, their family members, and former and current Acadia employees – are deeply disturbing. Acadia must take immediate action to ensure that each of the thousands of patients admitted to an Acadia-owned inpatient psychiatric facility because it is medically necessary,” the lawmakers wrote.
“These troubling reports are compounded by Acadia’s reported motivation being financial gain. The Times piece details a number of alarming practices throughout Acadia facilities aimed at extending inpatient stays to maximize payments from health insurers. In one Florida hospital, former and current employees testified that in order to hold patients beyond the 72 hours permitted under state law, the hospital would file a petition with the courts to extend the patients’ involuntary stay. The process of filing these petitions allows the facility to maintain the hold beyond the 72 hours until the court grants or rejects the petition – a process that often takes days. Regardless of the court’s determination, the Florida hospital raked in thousands of dollars from insurers for the additional time,” the lawmakers continued.
The lawmakers also demanded answers to the following questions:
- What is the standard intake process for patients admitted under an emergency hold at Acadia inpatient psychiatric facilities? Do intake process standards vary based on state statute? If so, please provide a detailed description of the intake process standards for each state.
- What steps are taken by Acadia to ensure their inpatient psychiatric facilities are meeting intake process standards for patients admitted under an emergency hold?
- What internal processes are in place for employees who are responding to a patient who believes they have been wrongfully admitted under an emergency hold at an Acadia inpatient psychiatric facility? Under what circumstances and how frequently are patients admitted under emergency holds re-evaluated to determine the emergency hold is necessary?
- What is the average length for an inpatient stay among patients admitted under an emergency hold?
- Does Acadia require its inpatient psychiatric facilities to provide patients who are admitted under an emergency hold with detailed information regarding their legal rights? If so, what information is provided?
- What access to external communication, such as phone calls, is provided to psychiatric patients admitted under emergency holds? How often are patients allowed to access external communication?
- Tim Blair, an Acadia spokesman, has publicly acknowledged that Acadia has deployed employees, referred to as “assessors,” throughout nearby hospital emergency rooms to support hospital staff. What specific services do assessors provide? What education-level and qualifications are required to work as an assessor? What specific training is provided to assessors by Acadia?
- Among patients admitted to Acadia inpatient psychiatric facilities under an emergency hold, what percentage of patients are covered by private health insurance and what percentage are covered by Medicare and Medicaid?
The letter was also signed by Representatives Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.).
Read the full letter here.