The True Cost of Alcoholism

Get Help With Alcohol Addiction

Talk To Someone Now

Call toll free to:

• Find meetings near you
• Discover online or in person meetings
• Get 24 hour information on addiction

800-934-9518

All calls are 100% confidential

Who Answers?

Alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorders are financial dominoes. Once you begin misusing alcohol, the dominoes, representing various aspects of life, fall regarding the cost of alcoholism. Misusing alcohol can lead to accidents and injuries, emergency room bills, absences from work, lost productivity, lost wages, legal fines and fees, property repairs, and alcohol addiction treatment costs. According to recent reports, 15% of the national healthcare budget is for treating alcohol and other substance misuse.¹

National Healthcare Cost of Alcoholism and Alcohol Misuse

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that healthcare costs for alcohol misuse were $28 billion in recent years.² In a massive study of emergency room visits related to substance misuse, alcohol-related issues were the most common. When alcohol was the primary reason for receiving care, the annual cost of alcoholism to U.S. hospitals was nearly $1.3 million annually. When alcohol was a secondary diagnosis, the cost of alcohol abuse was just over $1.3 million annually.³

Inpatient admissions with a primary diagnosis of alcohol misuse cost U.S. hospitals $394,461 annually. When alcohol was a secondary diagnosis, it cost hospitals over $1.4 million annually. To break this data down to an individual level, each visit to the emergency room costs at least $2,000, and each inpatient admission costs over $9,000.³

Cost of Alcohol Abuse vs. Cost of Prescription and Illicit Drug Misuse

Alcohol-related emergency room visits and inpatient admissions cost hospitals much more annually than those involving other substances as the primary diagnosis. The following is a comparison of substances that were the only drug involved when seeking care:³

• Marijuana E.R. visits cost $69,708, and inpatient stays cost $9,844.
• Hallucinogen E.R. visits cost $15,231 and inpatient stays cost $2,217.
• Inhalant E.R. visits cost $2959, and inpatient stays cost $136.
• Opioid E.R. visits cost $393,04,5 and inpatient stays cost $141,007.
• Sedative E.R. visits cost $43,372, and inpatient stays cost $21,814.
• Stimulant E.R. visits cost $176,365 and inpatient stays cost $54,898.

The numbers rose when patients were diagnosed with more than one substance in their system upon entry.

Cost of Alcoholism Among Drinking Populations

An estimate given by multiple resources is that the cost of alcoholism and alcohol misuse in America is $249 billion. Further analysis determines which population groups contribute to the overall number. The findings include:⁴

• Binge drinking costs $191.1 billion, or 76.7% of the total.
• Underage drinking costs $24.3 billion, or 9.7% of the total.
• Pregnant drinkers cost $$5.5 billion or 2.2% of the total.

Cost of Alcoholism Compared to Physical Disease Costs

Alcohol addiction is a brain disease, a medical condition that should be comparable in treatment and costs to medical illnesses. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act has put more emphasis on treatment equality and ensuring everyone needing treatment of any kind has access to affordable care. Integration of substance use treatment with traditional healthcare may make it possible to reduce the costs for overlapping diseases. Common diseases have costs to the nation:⁵

• Heart disease and stroke cost $216 billion and $147 billion in lost productivity at work each year.
• Cancer costs over $200 billion annually and is on the rise.
• Diabetes diagnoses resulted in $327 billion in medical costs and lost productivity at work.
• Obesity costs the healthcare system $147 billion annually.
• Arthritis has cost the nation $140 billion in medical expenses and $164 billion in lost earnings.
• Alzheimer’s disease costs $305 billion annually and quickly rising.

National Cost of Alcoholism Treatment

Alcohol misuse treatment can reduce healthcare, social, and judicial costs for the country. For every dollar spent on treatment, the United States gets a $4 to $7 return and reduces crime related to alcohol and other substances. Incarceration alone can cost the government close to $25,000 annually.⁶ This represents vast savings offset by alcohol misuse treatment.

The United States reportedly spends $35 billion on public and private substance use treatment centers. The treatment cost of alcoholism and drug misuse varies among the systems that provide it and who is responsible for payment. Examples include:⁷

• Criminal justice system’s substance misuse treatment services cost $400 million and are paid for by the public sector, including taxpayers.
• Child welfare system receives over $5 billion from federal funding, of which substance misuse disorder services account for a majority.
• Military health systems receive over $1 billion for the cost of alcohol abuse treatment alone.
• Inpatient and outpatient treatment systems costs vary greatly, but a 2014 estimate of $22,460 for each abstinent participant is an average paid for by multiple sources, including the participant, public and private insurances, and government funding.
• Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) combined with therapy averages $1,285.

Funding Streams for Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment

Multiple funding streams exist to provide funding for substance misuse treatment. Some cover what insurance companies will not cover. Others cover all expenses if you meet specific criteria. Examples of typical funding streams for addiction treatment include:⁷

• Medicaid
• Medicare
• Block Grants awarded to community agencies (e.g., SAMSHA Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant or Title V of the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant)
• Hospital and Health Services Foundation Grants
• Local and state taxes

Personal Costs of Alcoholism and Alcohol Misuse

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks spending trends among consumers. A recent report shows Americans spend an average of $529 on alcohol annually. The range included consumers in the Northeast spending $624, Midwest spending $538, South spending $447, and the West spending $587.⁸

The BLS consumer expenditure report provides data on the average amount spent on alcohol each year in several big cities, including:⁸

• New York averages $639.
• Philadelphia averages $815.
• Minneapolis averages $1,042.
• Washington, D.C., averages $818.
• Baltimore averages $542.
• Atlanta averages $749.
• Dallas averages $450.
• Tampa averages $630.
• San Francisco averages $1,011.
• Honolulu averages $473.
• Anchorage averages $568.

Calculating How Much You Spend on Alcohol

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism created a spending calculator to help you figure out the exact cost of alcohol abuse. Start by averaging how many days each week you drink alcohol. Then determine how many drinks you have on a given day and the average price for a drink.⁹

For example, if you are a binge drinker on the weekends, you may only drink one day, but you consume two bottles of wine during that day. If the average cost of wine is $15, then the amount you spend on alcohol is $30 a week, $130 a month, and $1,560 a year.

If you have alcohol use disorder, you may consume alcohol daily. If you drink a six-pack of beer every day, at an average cost of $6 per six-pack, you are spending $42 a week, $182 a month, and $2,184 a year on alcohol.

Personal Cost of Alcoholism in the Workplace

Alcohol use in the workplace costs billions of dollars annually. Being absent from work is up to eight times greater for those who misuse alcohol. It also increases risks of injuries on the job, productivity losses, and increases in healthcare costs of alcohol for the company.¹⁰

Reports claim that 7.9% of people in the workforce have alcohol use disorder. Industries with young, male-dominated work environments see a higher number of alcohol use disorders in the workplace, including:¹⁰

• Construction at 12.4%
• Entertainment at 12.1%
• Mining at 9.6%
• Wholesale at 9.4%
• Management 8.6%

Being absent from work is 50% higher for those with a substance misuse disorder. In addition, turnover rates are higher, costing employers thousands of dollars. The industry with the highest costs related to turnover include:¹⁰

• Mining turnovers cost $5,044.
• Information communication turnovers cost $5,068.
• Construction turnovers cost $4,440.
• Management turnovers cost $4,506.

If you have alcohol use disorder and get treatment and maintain recovery, you can save your employer significant money. The amount varies among the industries but the ones with the top savings include:¹⁰

• Information communications, $8,466
• Professional management, $4,322
• Mining, $3,890
• Manufacturing, $3,823
• Retail, $3,134

Personal Cost of Alcoholism Treatment

The severity of your alcohol use disorder will determine which treatment services can benefit you the most. Each service has a different cost. If you need medication-assisted treatment, the weekly price will likely be around $120 per week and close to $6,000 a year. These costs are only slightly higher than those associated with healthcare for diabetes and other diseases.¹¹

Although there is very little research on the personal cost of alcoholism treatment, some reports suggest averages may include:¹²

• Intensive outpatient up to $600 weekly
• Residential up to $1,000 weekly
• Individual outpatient up to $300 weekly

If you have private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare, they will likely cover most of your expenses. There are numerous other ways to obtain funding to cover the healthcare costs of alcohol treatment, including grants, scholarships, and local, state, and federal programs earmarked for substance misuse treatment.

The Takeaway on the True Cost of Alcoholism

Looking at the healthcare costs of alcohol on you, the healthcare system, and the nation may seem high. However, there is a solution to reduce the costs, and that is by entering alcohol abuse treatment. Treatment is an excellent investment with a great return.

It’s essential never to let the potential cost of alcoholism treatment stop you from seeking help. There are multiple funding resources to help cover your expenses. When you enter alcohol misuse treatment, you help reduce the unwanted cost of alcohol abuse.

To learn more about treatment costs for alcohol misuse in your area, call our support team members. We will direct you to a program that can explain the cost of alcohol abuse treatment and funding options.

We are here 24/7, ready to connect you with a treatment provider. Call 800-948-8417 Who Answers? to speak with a treatment specialist.

Resources

1. UNC School of Medicine Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies. (2022). Cost of Alcohol Abuse.
2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). The Cost of Excessive Alcohol Use.
3. Peterson, C., Li, M., Xu, L., Mikosz, C., & Luo, F. (2021). Assessment of Annual Cost of Substance Use Disorder in U.S. Hospitals. Substance Use and Addiction, 4(3), e210242.
4. Sacks, J.J., MD., Gonzales, K.R., MPH., Bouchery, E.E., MS., Tomedi, L.E., Ph.D., & Brewer, R.D., MD. (2015). 2010 National and State Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 49(5), E73-E79.
5. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2022). Health and Economic Costs of Chronic Diseases.
6. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020). Is Drug Addiction Treatment Worth Its Cost?
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Chapter 6, Health Care Systems and Substance Use Disorders. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (U.S.). Office of the Surgeon General (US). Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health [Internet]. Washington (D.C.).
8. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Consumer Expenditure Survey: Consumer Expenditures for the U.S., Regions, and Selected Metropolitan Areas.
9. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2022). Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol Spending Calculator.
10. Goplerud, E., Hodge, S., & Benham, T. (2017). A Substance Use Cost Calculator for U.S. Employers With an Emphasis on Prescription Pain Medication Misuse. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(11), 1063-1071.
11. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021). How Much Does Opioid Treatment Cost?
12. French, M. T., Popovici, I., & Tapsell, L. (2008). The Economic Costs of Substance Abuse Treatment: Updated Estimates and Cost Bands for Program Assessment and Reimbursement. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 35(4), 462-469.