The FBI posted a public notice last week seeking information amid a health care fraud investigation into Addiction Recovery Care, a high-profile and fast-growing treatment provider for substance use disorder.
The notice says no criminal charges have been filed against ARC at this time, but otherwise provides no specifics on what the FBI is investigating.
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Louisville Division told KyCIR they can’t provide additional details, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
ARC recently learned of the federal investigation and is cooperating with the authorities, according to a statement company spokesman Kyle Collier provided to KyCIR.
“As we all know, healthcare is one of the most highly regulated fields in the country, and addiction treatment is among the most highly scrutinized healthcare services,” the statement said. “ARC is a trailblazer in the field of addiction services. We are confident in our program and in the services we offer. We, and our legal counsel, are cooperating fully in the investigation."
In its July 30 notice, the FBI invites anyone with information relevant to the investigation, or who believes they were “victimized by ARC,” to fill out an online form.
The form asks if the person filling it out was a patient or employee of ARC between 2019 and the present. It also asks if they believe any services provided by ARC were not medically necessary, not adequately rendered, or not billed appropriately.
ARC is based in Louisa, in eastern Kentucky, and was founded more than a decade ago by Tim Robinson Jr., who’s a recovering alcoholic himself.
ARC has expanded greatly over the years, adding outpatient and inpatient treatment centers primarily in eastern and central Kentucky. It also has an outpatient center in Louisville and plans for future treatment facilities in Ohio and Virginia.
The Kentucky Lantern recently reported on ARC’s growth, noting that the for-profit company received around $130 million in Medicaid payments last year. The Lantern reported Robinson and another company executive said nearly all of ARC’s revenue comes from Medicaid because the clients they treat are commonly unemployed and lack private health insurance.
Robinson’s political giving has attracted attention recently.
LPM News reported other companies led by Robinson gave around $110,000 to the Democratic Governors Association in 2023 – and the DGA spent big on Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection race that year. Robinson was also the largest individual contributor to Beshear’s inauguration committee, giving $29,000.
