Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Questions:

 

Are all recovery residences required to be registered?

  • Yes. All persons, partnerships, associations, or corporations operating a recovery residence in the State of West Virginia are required to be registered pursuant to state law and rule. 

 

Are all recovery residences required to be certified?

  • No. Recovery residences are not required to be certified to operate in the State of West Virginia. Certification is a voluntary process and separate from the registration requirements. For more information about certification, please contact the West Virginia Alliance for Recovery Residences, which is the certifying agency in West Virginia. However, there could be penalties for non-certified residences who receive state funds or certain referrals.

 

How does a recovery residence become registered?

  • To become registered, a recovery residence must complete a registration application and submit that application to the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. Also required with the application, the recovery residence must submit a check or money order for the registration fee and copies of the recovery residence application and agreement. The registration fee is $250, which may be adjusted annually for inflation based upon the consumer price index.

 

If I operate multiple recovery residences, does each recovery residence need to be registered separately?

  • Yes, each physical recovery residence address must be registered separately. Recovery residences are non-transferable to another owner, but a registration may be amended for name or physical address change.

 

What data and when should the data be reported to the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification and the West Virginia Department of Human Services? 

  • Recovery residences are required to report specified data quarterly to the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification and the West Virginia Department of Human Services quarterly. For specific data that is required to be reported, please review Section 7 of the recovery residence legislative rule found here. Failure to complete timely data reporting may result in the revocation of a recovery residence’s registration.

 

What is patient brokering? 

  • Patient brokering is the illegal practice by any person, health care provider, health care facility, or recovery residence to offer, solicit, or receive a commission, benefit, bonus, rebate, kickback, or bribe, directly or indirectly, to induce the referral of a patient or patronage to or from a health care provider, health care facility, or recovery residence. Patient brokering also includes split-fee arrangement for the inducement of a referral of patient or patronage. Aiding, abetting, advising, and other participation is also prohibited by law.

 

What is human trafficking? 

  • Human trafficking is the illegal practice of knowingly recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, receiving, providing, obtaining, isolating, maintaining, or enticing an individual to engage in debt bondage, forced labor, or sexual servitude. Human trafficking is prohibited by law.

 

How can a complaint about a recovery residence be reported? 

Complaints may be made to the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification in the following ways:

Complaints may be made anonymously and by anyone.

 

What type of complaints does the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification investigate at recovery residences? 

  • The Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification will investigate recovery residences that are operating without first being registered and complaints related to patient brokering. If a recovery residence is certified by the West Virginia Alliance for Recovery Residences, the complaint will also be referred to them for further investigation related to certification. The Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification may also refer complaints to other state agencies that have authority to investigate. 

 

Are there any penalties a recovery residence may receive and for what?

Registered:

  • Yes. Recovery residences that operate without a valid Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification registration may be fined up to $20,000 per day. 

Non-Certified:

  • Non-certified recovery residences may not receive referrals from the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Parole Board, county probation offices, day report centers, municipal courts, or a medical or clinical treatment facility that receives any funds for its operations from the State Treasury. 

  • Non-certified recovery residences may not receive funds from any sources within the State Treasury.

  • Non-certified recovery residences may not receive funds from a resident that is in the form of a state benefit, including, but not limited to Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

  • Non-certified recovery residences that do so may face criminal charges and fines as specified in law.