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Substance Abuse Treatment Benefits and Costs: Update September 2008

Knowledge Asset Policy Brief

Publisher: Substance Abuse Policy Research Program, Greensboro, NC

Published: September 2008

Substance Abuse Treatment Benefits and Costs: Updated September 2008

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Substance Abuse Treatment Benefits and Costs: Update September 2008 By: McCarty D Published In: Knowledge Assets Series	Quantity

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The economic costs of drug and alcohol abuse in the United States are estimated to exceed $275 billion (1995 dollars) a year, including lost productivity, medical expenses, crime and other costs. More than 22 million people are in need of addiction treatment.

In 2003, the United States spent an estimated $21 billion (U.S. dollars) on treatment for alcohol and drug disorders, a total of 1.3 percent of all health care expenditures. Public payers now account for 77 percent of all spending to address drug and alcohol disorders. Consequently, policy-makers want to learn more about the costs and benefits of treatment to justify the use of billions of public monies used yearly for this purpose. During the last five years, with support from the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP) and other sources, both public and private, new studies have begun to examine and evaluate the benefits and cost-effectiveness of investing in treatment.

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Substance Abuse Treatment Benefits and Costs: Update September 2008

Knowledge Asset Policy Brief

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