Enacts new Article 5H to GS Chapter 90. Names the act “The Stop Addiction Fraud Ethics Act of 2023” or the “SAFE Act of 2023.” Defines the following terms: recovery residence (a shared living environment that is, or is intended to be, free from alcohol and illicit drug use and centered on peer support and connection to services that promote sustained recovery from substance use disorders), treatment facility (a facility or program that is, or is required to be, licensed, accredited, or certified to provide substance use disorder treatment services), and treatment provider (a person or entity that is, or is required to be, licensed, accredited, or certified to provide substance use disorder treatment services, including treatment facilities). Also defines referral and patient. 

Directs a treatment provider, treatment facility, recovery residence, or third party providing services to any treatment provider, treatment facility, or recovery residence to produce accurate and complete advertising materials containing the following information in plain, easy to understand language: (1) the types and methods of services provided or used, and information about where they are provided, using the categories of treatment and levels of care described in the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Patient Placement Criteria, Revised; (2) the average lengths of stay at the treatment facility during the preceding 12-month period for each of the categories of treatment and levels of care referenced above; (3) the treatment facility’s name and brand; and (4) a brief summary of any financial relationships between the treatment facility and any publisher of marketing or advertising.  

Requires each operator of a recovery residence or licensed residential treatment facility that also provides separately licensed outpatient substance use disorder services to clearly: (1) label each facility and service separately in any marketing or advertising material published or  provided by the operator and (2) distinguish the recovery residence or licensed residential treatment facility from the licensed outpatient substance use disorder services.

Makes the following two acts committed by any treatment provider, treatment facility, recovery residence, or third party providing services to any treatment provider, treatment facility, or recovery residence an unfair or deceptive trade practice under GS 75-1.1 (State Consumer Protection Act) and a Class G felony for knowing violations: (1) making a materially false or misleading statement, or providing false or misleading information, about the nature, identity, or location of substance use disorder treatment services or a recovery residence in advertising materials, on a call line, on an internet website, or in any other marketing materials; (2) making a false or misleading statement about the treatment provider's status as an in-network or out-of-network provider; the credentials, qualifications, or experiences of persons providing treatment or services; or the rate of recovery or success in providing services. Each violation constitutes a separate offense.

Makes the following four acts committed by any person or entity an unfair or deceptive trade practice under GS 75-1.1 and a Class G felony for knowing violations: (1) to provide, or direct any other person or entity to provide, false or misleading information about the identity of, or contact information for, any treatment provider; (2) to include false or misleading information about the internet website of any treatment provider, or to surreptitiously direct or redirect the reader to another internet website; (3) to suggest or imply that a relationship with a treatment provider exists, unless the treatment provider has provided express, written consent to indicate such a relationship; (4) to make a materially false or misleading statement about substance use disorder treatment services. Each violation constitutes a separate offense.

Makes it a Class G felony for any person or entity, including a treatment provider, treatment facility, recovery residence, or third party providing services to any of these persons or entities to engage in any of the following acts of patient brokering or kickbacks: (1) offer or pay anything of value, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, or engage in any split-fee arrangement, in any form whatsoever, to induce the referral of a patient or patronage to or from a treatment provider or laboratory; (2) solicit or receive anything of value, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, or engage in any split-fee arrangement, in any form whatsoever, in return for referring a patient or patronage to or from a treatment provider or laboratory; (3) solicit or receive anything of value, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, or engage in any split-fee arrangement, in any form whatsoever, in return for the acceptance or acknowledgment of treatment from a health care provider or health care facility; (4) aid or abet any of the above conduct in this paragraph. Specifies that the following are not considered unlawful patient brokering or kickbacks: (1) any discount, payment, waiver of payment, or payment practice that is  expressly authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)(3) (pertaining to lawful financial transactions in federal health care programs) or any regulation adopted under that statute; (2) a reasonable contingency management technique or other reasonable motivational incentive that is part of the treatment provided by an accredited, licensed, or certified treatment provider.

Exempts licensed general hospitals and hospital authorities from the Act.

Effective January 1, 2024, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.