Saving lives

Recovery Centers of America (RCA) CEO Brett Cohen has a plan for treating one million Americans for substance addiction. It’s no easy feat in a country where 48.5 million people need treatment for substance abuse, yet less than a quarter of them receive it.

But since he took on the role in 2023, Cohen has set about making the organization more accountable and efficient to be able to scale its operations to reach that goal.

“We’ve cared for over 77,000 individuals since the company was founded eight years ago. We have a long way to go because, sadly, there’s a desperate need, but that’s what we’re here for – to save lives,” Cohen tells The CEO Magazine.

Leaning into his 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Cohen has formulated a clear plan for how RCA will turn that 77,000 into a million: expand its footprint across the United States, build on its outpatient services and work with governments to provide more Medicaid-funded treatment.

“When I joined, there were a lot of really great things about RCA and there were a lot of things that had to mature. The company was founder-led – he was an entrepreneur, very passionate about caring for people with addiction, and bold in his approach. He did a lot of amazing things and took the company to a certain point before seeking a seasoned healthcare leader for the next chapter to scale and mature the organization,” Cohen reflects.

Targeting one million lives

“So, there was a lot of work that went into changing our culture – our management cadence, our KPIs in terms of how we run the business, how we decide to deploy resources and capital, accountability and empowerment,” he says. “We’ve done an incredible job building on a great foundation and strengthening our clinical model, and our clinical indicators and outcomes are leading the industry right now.

“We’ve done a lot of work in our culture, attracting and retaining some incredible people. We have improved our financial strength as well. There’s been a lot of work over this last year, trying to change the trajectory of our organization.”

That is what will allow RCA to reach more people beyond those that its 12 facilities across the seven states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana are currently treating.

Expanding in those existing states is on the cards, Cohen reveals, as well as opening new facilities in adjacent states, particularly in the Southeast and Midwest. In parallel with expanding geographically, strengthening RCA’s “continuum of care” is also high on Cohen’s agenda.

“Historically, the company has focused a lot on our inpatient services. Coming to one of our facilities and spending 20 or 30 days there to help with their detoxification is a recovery process that is very appropriate for many people,” he says.

“But there are other people who also need care in different settings, and they may not need as highly restricted or acute a level of care. And so we’ve been spending a lot of time strengthening our outpatient continuum as well, and we’ll do more of that into the future.”

Financial accessibility

Ensuring people can pay for that care is paramount. Most RCA patients do so through their employer sponsored for family health insurance, Cohen acknowledges, to the same effect as if they were receiving treatment in a traditional hospital.

But with eight percent of Americans uninsured and an even greater number covered with Medicaid – and those with substance abuse disorders are often in one of these two groups – reaching the goal of treating one million people means financial accessibility, too.

Working with governments to ensure substance abuse treatment can be covered by Medicaid, the United States’ joint federal and state program that helps cover medical treatment for people with limited income, is also one of Cohen’s priorities.

---

“Our partnership with Recovery Centers of America is a testament to our shared commitment to improving patient care and optimizing operational efficiency in behavioral health. RCA’s reputation for providing high-quality, evidence-based addiction treatment services aligns perfectly with our approach. Together, we ensure that treatment providers can focus on what matters most while we handle the complexities of revenue cycle management.” – Erin Burke, CEO and Founder, Hansei Solutions

---

Advertisement

“We have not historically offered care to people who have Medicaid as a payer, but we have recently recently started doing so in just a few states. Obviously that’s in places where the states have recognized the importance of it and have been willing to invest in our level of care,” Cohen says.

“There’s an opportunity to do more of that and to help advocate for states to put more investment into care. Individuals who struggle with addiction often have lots of other comorbidities, so oftentimes the addiction will complicate care in other ways.

“So if they’re not getting care for their addiction, often they’re not taking care of their other healthcare needs. You’ll see people who struggle with addiction are more likely to end up in emergency departments or in hospitals. If we help people care for their addiction, it actually has impacts on other parts of their healthcare as well. And it’s really important to recognize that.”

Good compliance is also essential, with RCA taking care to demonstrate where and how the money is being spent, whether it comes from insurance companies or Medicaid.

“We have to be incredibly responsible with their dollars to make sure that we are providing great care at an efficient cost model,” Cohen says.

It’s tough work, he admits, but the bigger picture keeps him motivated.

“For every person who’s struggling with addiction, there are on average seven people whose lives are being impacted as well – think about mothers, fathers, spouses and children. So if you can make a difference in one person’s life, it impacts those seven people, too,” he says.