Both President Obama and Mitt Romney don’t agree about much; however, both of them agree that reducing the Federal deficit is a priority. One piece of this puzzle may be to address the cost of substance abuse in the United States. Annually, the cost of Substance abuse is estimated at $467 billion dollars or roughly 10% of the Federal budget in 2005. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASAColumbiaTM), recently reported that although evidence-based treatments for drug addiction and alcoholism exist, most patients do not receive these treatments. For example, the report indicates that less than 10% of people with drug dependence or alcoholism receive any form of treatment for the disease. As recognized by Drug Treatment Florida, Drug Rehab Florida, Drug and alcohol treatment Florida, Alcohol rehab center Florida, Alcohol rehabilitation Florida Drug and alcohol rehab Florida, Drug and alcohol treatment Florida, and Drug rehabilitation Florida, and in light of the fact that over 70% of individuals receive treatment for diseases such as high blood pressure, major depression and diabetes, drug dependence and alcoholism is the “dirty-little secret” that society sweeps under the rug; however, the mere financial costs are extraordinary. The CASA study estimates that the consequences of drug dependence and alcoholism cost every person in the United States $1500.00 per year.
In the United States, the greatest expenditure of spending by the government as it relates to risky substance abuse and the disease of addiction are in the area of crime and health care. CASA found that over 30% of inpatient hospitalization expenditures are a result of risky drug use and the disease of addiction. Moreover, Drug treatment centers Florida, Outpatient drug rehab Florida, Outpatient drug treatment Florida, Outpatient rehab Florida, Drug and alcohol treatment, Drug and alcohol rehab and Outpatient drug rehab agrees and the report indicates, that in the United States, over 80% of all prison inmates are there as a result of substance-involved offenses and over 60% of these individuals meet the DSM IV criteria for addiction and dependence. Moreover, this equates to roughly $25,000 per year to incarcerate individuals with a treatable disease and as a direct result of a treatable disease. Regardless of whether you support President Obama or Mitt Romney, I believe it is hard for either of them to not agree that we are missing an opportunity to reduce expenditures by effectively treating drug dependence and alcoholism. Rather than ignoring the problem and dealing with the financial consequences thereafter, why aren’t we proactive (as we are with other diseases) and deal with effective treatments before it costs over 400 billion a year?
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