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Addiction treatment marketing rules in West Virginia
What you can claim, how you can pay for referrals, and where West Virginia diverges from the federal floor. Derived from the live ruleset library.
Yes. West Virginia has its own addiction-treatment marketing law, and Pre-Trip carries it as a live rule set, with every rule checked against the section of law it cites, checked 2026-07-30. On top of the federal rules that apply everywhere (42 CFR Part 2, the ad platforms' healthcare policies, EKRA, the FTC Act, HIPAA, the TCPA, CAN-SPAM), West Virginia adds a rule of its own, listed below with the section behind each one. A clean pass here means the copy cleared both.
W. Va. Code chapter 16, article 62 (Patient Brokering Act): 16-62-1 (definitions), 16-62-2 (patient brokering prohibited), 16-62-3 (exceptions). 16-62-2(a) makes it unlawful for any person, including
Every West Virginia scan also runs the always-on federal layer: 42 CFR Part 2 confidentiality and FTC endorsement rules in addic, Platform certification requirements for addiction treatment adve, EKRA referral remuneration in marketing copy, FTC deceptive health claims and endorsements, TCPA consent and revocation in calls and texts. A ruleset counts toward a clean pass only while it is published, matches its content hash, and its review clock is fresh, which is why the date above is load-bearing.
The claim types West Virginia law puts off-limits in treatment marketing. Each is compiled from the cited section; the scanner reads your copy for them, and the patterns stay on the server.
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High riskOffers of free or covered travel, airfare, lodging, or scholarship beds as an inducement to enter treatment.
W. Va. Code 16-62-2(a) makes it unlawful to offer or pay a commission, benefit, bonus, rebate, kickback, or bribe, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce the referral of a patient or in return for a patient accepting treatment. Free or covered travel, airfare, lodging, or a scholarship bed offered to a prospective patient as an inducement to enter treatment is a benefit in kind offered to secure that patient. A violation is punishable by a fine of up to $50,000, imprisonment of one to five years, or both, and where the prohibited conduct involves ten or more patients by a fine of up to $100,000, imprisonment of two to five years, or both (W. Va. Code 16-62-2(b)).
W. Va. Code 16-62-2(a); W. Va. Code 16-62-2(b) (Patient Brokering Act)
The exposure West Virginia attaches to a marketing violation, by tier. Exact amounts and elements live in the cited statute.
- CriminalPatient-brokering or referral-payment conduct can carry criminal exposure. The tier is in the cited statute.
- CivilCivil penalties per violation and deceptive-practices exposure. Amounts are in the cited section.
What the scanner does with two versions of the same idea. The flagged line is rendered the way Pre-Trip renders a finding; the clean line is a pass.
Free flights and a free 30-day bed for anyone who calls today.
Free travel and free treatment dangled to induce admission to a specific facility can read as patient brokering and an unlawful inducement.
Free travel, beds, or scholarships · W. Va. Code 16-62-2, patient brokering prohibited (WV Legislature)
We can help you understand travel and scholarship options and whether you qualify.
Signals help without dangling free value as the hook to induce an admission.
West Virginia and federal sources
- W. Va. Code 16-62-2, patient brokering prohibited (WV Legislature) primary
- W. Va. Code 16-62-1, definitions (WV Legislature) primary
- W. Va. Code 16-62-3, exceptions (WV Legislature) primary
- W. Va. Code chapter 16, article 62, Patient Brokering Act (article index) primary
- 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (eCFR current text) primary
- 16 C.F.R. Part 255 Endorsement Guides primary
- HHS fact sheet, 42 CFR Part 2 Final Rule (2024)
- 15 U.S.C. 45d (OARFPA 2018) primary
- Google Ads Healthcare and medicines policy primary
- Meta advertising standards, addiction treatment primary
- LegitScript addiction treatment certification
- 18 U.S.C. 220 (EKRA) primary
Pre-Trip is a rigorous screen, not legal advice. Counsel decides; we help you arrive prepared. Coverage for West Virginia reflects the library as of the build and changes as the law does.