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Methadone Treatment News

Treating Substance Abuse

Every single day, our televisions and newspapers are filled with the details of brutal murders, fatal car crashes, incidents of domestic violence and child abuse, babies born addicted to crack, and increasing numbers of people infected with the deadly HIV. While most people are shocked and saddened by these tragedies, few ever stop to consider that the roots of these and other equally devastating social ills can often be linked to alcohol and drug addictions.

Today, more than 18 million alcohol abusers and five million drug abusers in the United States need treatment, according to a study done by Brandeis University. And this abuse dramatically affects us all -- in lives needlessly lost, gang violence in our neighborhoods, decreased productivity in our workplaces, drunk driving crashes on our roads, more hospital emergency room visits in our communities and higher health care costs that we ultimately pay for out of our own pockets. This problem, indeed, belongs to each of us!

In recent years, the nation has been engaged in a debate over health care reform and we have heard many people say that we can't afford to pay for treatment of alcohol and drug addictions under a national health plan. But the truth is -- we can't afford NOT to pay for these services. Several credible studies have been released to illustrate that providing substance abuse treatment actually costs LESS than paying for the related social problems that result when addictions are ignored. In fact, a study of California alcohol and drug treatment services found that for every dollar invested in treatment, taxpayers save $7.14 in future costs, primarily due to a decrease in crime.

Nationally, the cost of untreated addiction runs as high as $172 billion a year, yet dollars directed to prevention and treatment equal less than one percent of this amount, according to researchers at Rutgers University. And these researchers estimate that untreated alcoholics incur health care costs that are 100 percent higher than those of nonalcoholics. And as the addiction progresses, this number keeps rising. In fact, in the last 12 months before an alcoholic seeks treatment, his or her health care costs tend to be close to 300 percent higher than that of someone without a substance abuse problem. That's why treating the addiction proves to be so cost-effective.

The Rutgers study found that providing treatment results in a number of cost-savings in the health care and work arenas-- including a significant reduction in sick-claim benefits, and a decrease of more than 50 percent in both absenteeism and in days lost to disability. For instance, Minnesota estimates that it saves $22 million in annual health care costs by providing treatment for drug addicts. And in Ohio, providing treatment decreased worker absenteeism by 89 percent, tardiness by 92 percent and on-the-job injuries by 57 percent. These successes -- and others like them in other states throughout the country-- are compiled in a report released by the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Directors called Invest in Treatment: It Works! In every example included in this report, the outcome was the same: investing in alcohol and drug treatment dramatically saves money.

We can use these successes from other states to encourage our legislators to take a closer look at the public treatment system and ensure it is accessible to all Americans who need it. It is clear that our money is better spent on expanding substance abuse services than on paying for the crime, violence, cirrhosis, HIV and other health and social costs that often result.