Doctor Who Advised TN Legislature Decries ‘Overzealous’ Raid on Home, Offices
The Johnson City home of Dr. Tom Reach, an addiction treatment physician who has been involved in developing Tennessee legislation, and the eight recovery centers he operates in Virginia and Tennessee were raided Wednesday by federal agents, reports the Johnson City Press. Reach says the action was an “overzealous” move tied to the “current political environment” — and noted several local politicians have visited his facilities.
As the search warrants, signed by U.S. Magistrate Dennis Inman in Greeneville, were executed at the various Tennessee treatment centers, patients were turned away as they showed up for their appointments. A Johnson City police officer stood guard at the front door to tell people the business was closed. Agents inside the center refused to speak to the Press.
… “This wasn’t necessary,” he (Reach) said. “There were no charges and no one was arrested. We have done absolutely nothing illegal, immoral or unethical.”
Reach said the search warrant he was given allowed agents to search for a variety of documents, including anything related to Medicaid or Medicare, banking records and medical records and anything related to the distribution of drugs or misbranding of drugs.
He said the treatment centers have never taken Medicare or Medicaid and does not file insurance claims, although some patients are reimbursed for their medications. He also said there are no medications at the recovery centers and doctors do not administer medications.
“We have no medications in our facilities at any time,” he said.
Reach said with his background in addiction recovery and work in helping set standards in the field, he was shocked by what happened Wednesday. As far as the agency’s finances, Reach said all profits go back into the company, but right now it is upside down financially.
“We have set ourselves up as a national standard of care on how to do Suboxone right. I’m the past president on the Tennessee Society of Addiction Medicine, I’m on the legislative committee of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, we’ve had Micah Van Huss, Matthew Hill, Ron Ramsey, Phil Roe in our office. We’ve had other clinics come from other states to examine our model and build the model we built.
“I helped write the legislation for the state of Tennessee for the OBOT (Office Based Opioid Treatment) rules and regulations because of the unethical practices of unethical physicians. I was on the governor’s advisory committee in Virginia,” said.
…“My concern is that in the present political environment that things have just gotten a little bit out of hand. The guys that are treating addiction are not the problem. My main concern is for 4,500 patients and their families that now are going to have trouble getting care or they’ll have to go to other providers that don’t provide the level of care that we do,” he said. Reach said he’s also concerned for the 100 people he employs at the centers across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
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