Titles the act as the "Stop Addiction Fraud Ethics Act of 2021" or the "SAFE Act of 2021."

Enacts new Article 5H, Stop Addiction Fraud Ethics Act, in GS Chapter 90, providing as follows. Requires any marketing or advertising materials published or provided by any treatment provider, treatment facility, recovery residence, or third party providing services to any treatment provider, treatment facility, or recovery residence to convey accurate and complete information, in plain language that is easy to understand. Requires the materials to include: (1) information about the types and methods of services provided or used, and information about where they are provided, using the specified categories of treatment and levels of care; (2) the average lengths of stay at the treatment facility during the preceding 12-month period for each category of treatment and level of care; (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. Defines treatment facility as a facility or program that is, or is required to be, licensed, accredited, or certified to provide substance use disorder treatment services. Defines treatment provider as a person or entity that is, or is required to be, licensed, accredited, or certified to provide substance use disorder treatment services; specifies that the term includes treatment facilities. Defines recovery residence as 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. Requires operators of a recovery residence or licensed residential treatment facility that also provides separately licensed outpatient substance use disorder services to clearly label each facility and service separately in any marketing or advertisements, and distinguish the recovery residence or licensed residential treatment facility from the licensed outpatient substance use disorder services. 

Makes it illegal for any treatment provider, treatment facility, recovery residence, or third party providing services to those entities to: (1) make a materially false or misleading statement, or provide 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 or (2) make 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. Also makes it illegal for any person or entity to: (1) provide, or direct another to provide, false or misleading information about the identity of, or contact information for, any treatment provider; (2) 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) suggest or imply a relationship with a treatment provider exists, unless there is consent to such a relationship; and (4) make a materially false or misleading statement about substance use disorder treatment services. Violations are an unfair or deceptive trade practice. A person or entity who knowingly commits a violation is guilty of a Class G felony; each violation is 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 those persons or entities) to: (1) offer or pay anything of value or engage in any split-fee arrangement, to induce the referral of a patient or patronage to or from a treatment provider or laboratory; (2) solicit or receive anything of value, or engage in any split-fee arrangement, in return for referring a patient or patronage to or from a treatment provider or laboratory; (3) solicit or receive anything of value, or engage in any split-fee arrangement, in return for the acceptance or acknowledgment of treatment from a health care provider or health care facility; or (4) aid or abet any conduct that violates these provisions. Excludes any discount, payment, waiver of payment, or payment practice that is expressly authorized under the specified federal law, and 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. Each violation is a separate offense. Specifies that liability exists regardless of whether a person has actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to commit a violation. 

Effective January 1, 2022.