Lawmakers push recovery-housing standards and workforce pilot amid rehab-fraud concerns

Representative Justin Bizolei and Representative Jody Salvo used the program to outline concurrent efforts to strengthen recovery services and workforce capacity in Ohio.

Bizolei said recent committee discussions have included examples of alleged Medicaid fraud in the recovery sector, where providers billed excessive hours for nominal services. "There was a provider in my district that was just charged by the attorney general for overbilling wellness hours," Bizolei said, adding that some programs were billing Medicaid for multiple hours while offering limited services.

To respond, Bizolei said he introduced House Bill 58, which he described as legislation to "raise the standard of care" in recovery housing and give local officials clearer authority to act against bad actors. He said the bill would clarify what activities are permitted in recovery houses and aim to speed local enforcement.

Salvo emphasized workforce shortages in rural Ohio, saying many communities lack behavioral-health staff because competing wages in urban areas pull new graduates away. She described a proposed pilot program to fund paid master's-level social-work internships at five Ohio universities, focused on school-based placements to encourage graduates to remain in rural areas.

Both representatives said stigma around addiction has decreased over the last decade and credited drug courts and other reforms but argued more investment in prevention, data and workforce pathways is needed to improve long-term outcomes.