Uplift Recovery Center has been named in a second Blue Cross Blue Shield lawsuit. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida filed the first lawsuit, but it was dismissed. Now Blue Cross in Oklahoma has filed suit against Uplift Recovery Center and 73 others. It appears that these addiction recovery businesses use CodeMax Medical Billing. CodeMax handled the billing for the named facilities.
BCBS is claiming that patients were being enrolled in BCBS and the very next day, they were receiving treatment in California. Uplift filled claims for 10 patients within seven days of enrollment. This is part of the dark side in the addiction treatment space. There are people who receive kickbacks to find people needing or looking for addiction treatment and get them admitted to facilities they partner with. It’s called Body Brokering. Step one is finding the person; step two is enrolling them in BCBS and flying them out for treatment. In the Florida lawsuit, it was alleged that the people behind this were using addresses tied to the Salvation Army and a local church. I don’t know what addresses were being used in the Oklahoma lawsuit.
The patients are flown from Oklahoma to California to receive treatment. Some of these people went to more than one facility. spencer zimmerman stated, “90 of the patients are from Oklahoma,” in their Google review. They wrote that review on July 14, 2024. Vanity Wellness Center in Woodland Hills was also named in both lawsuits. Ashley Wilson reviewed Uplift Recovery Center on October 2, 2023, and Vanity Wellness Center on August 16, 2023. Codmax submitted claims in 2023.
The lawsuit alleges that CodeMax submitted claims that exceeded the level of service patients received. In some cases, CodeMax submitted the same claims for two facilities on the same day. It appears CodeMax abused the system, and Uplift Recovery Center reaped the rewards. In February 2025, I investigated the reviews for almost 800 addiction treatment facilities and sober homes. Uplift Recovery Center and Vanity Wellness Center both appeared several times in reviews by people who reviewed more than one facility. I also saw evidence of people being flown out of state to California for treatment. People from Florida and Oklahoma showed up a lot.
Time will tell whether Florida BCBS refiles its lawsuit. It will be interesting to see what comes of the Oklahoma lawsuit and how it impacts the addiction recovery space. People are watching.