JEANNE’S REVIEW

Written and directed by Benjamin Flaherty, SHUFFLE was conceptualized as a documentary about broken systems and ended up exposing systematic corruption at all levels of the billion-dollar addiction treatment industry. Flaherty’s film follows three individuals over three years --- all victims of a system that didn’t solve their problems, but exacerbated their addictions --- keeping them sick.

Flaherty documents his own recovery while spending time with these three people who are merely trying to survive this deeply corrupted system. SHUFFLE refers to the “Florida Shuffle” where thousands of addicts are body brokered to the Sunshine State each year for what they believe --- or want to believe --- are facilities which will help them kick their habits.

Unfortunately, the “system” is really designed to keep these people trapped in fraudulent treatment promises fueled by insurance companies. The opioid epidemic has created a crisis and now insurance companies are required to cover addiction treatment --- along with mental health treatment. But these addicts are being bought and sold for their policies in a never-ending cycle of despair.

Though I found much of Flaherty’s doc way too repetitive, he does an excellent job exposing the shameless profiteering underneath all the guarantees of full recovery. His three users go through hell and back trying desperately to get clean while surviving the ins and outs of the corruption.

SHUFFLE is certainly eye-opening --- a shocking, detailed exposure of a truly broken industry. Some survive --- some don’t --- and it’s a revelation regarding the depths to which companies and individuals will sink to make a profit.

Opinion: Wait for VOD

               DAVID’S REVIEW    

SHUFFLE is an award-winning documentary exposing the stunning fraud in drug-addiction treatment centers. Here he focuses primarily in South Florida. Writer, director, photographer, editor and narrator Benjamin Flaherty follows three young drug addicts over a period of three years. These individuals are caught up in a cycle of treatment, recovery and relapse, because the insurance fraud engaged in by the treatment facilities is non-stop. The objective is not to heal them, but to have them continue to be addicts so the centers can continue to cash in.

Flaherty himself is a recovering addict, but his success story predates the fraudulent activity described in his documentary. If you are a drug addict seeking help, the question is what facility can you trust?

Perhaps the most egregious aspect of SHUFFLE is the individuals called brokers who scour social media looking for drug addicts and their insurance policies. These brokers are actually recruiters who reap very large sums of tax-free cash for their efforts.

Meanwhile, the addiction facilities engage in testing and treatment procedures that are largely unnecessary and/or ineffective. But the insurance companies still pay for the patients’ time in the facilities and for the tests and treatments administered by the fraudulent facilities.

One of the more entertaining features of SHUFFLE is the use of stick figures and numbers called “doodles” provided by Tom Sears. They help to facilitate understanding of the cycle of procedures where the fraud is most rampant. The film has garnered many film festival awards, most notably the Jury Best Documentary Award at SXSW in 2025.

Opinion: See It Now!