Leaving addiction untreated costs everyone.
Baltimore could help addicts and save $4 million in emergency and healthcare costs by spending more on drug abuse and addiction treatment, two reports show.
The Baltimore City Health Department and Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems Inc. released two studies on the value of drug treatment produced by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
“Expanding treatment access has the potential to reduce both individual suffering and overall society burden associated with opioid dependence without increasing the cost of medical care,” the study authors concluded.
The information justifies increased spending on drug treatment, officials said.
“This new research shows that we are already paying for the consequences of drug addiction,” Mayor Sheila Dixon said in a statement accompanying the release. “It?s time for all of our state and local partners to invest more in drug treatment. Doing so will reduce this costly burden on our health-care system and save lives.”
Researchers from UMBC?s Center for Health Program Development and Management conducted the analyses, which were funded by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The first new study, compared pre-treatment to post-treatment Medicaid costs for people who enter methadone therapy. For city residents, the study found a significant reduction in costly hospitalizations after starting treatment. For non-city residents, it found declines in emergency department visits. All participants had fewer visits for respiratory illnesses after starting drug treatment.
The second study found that providing effective therapy for addiction to heroin and other opiates could save $4,586 per person per year in medical costs. These savings exceed the cost of the drug treatment itself.
Using the ballpark estimate of 25,500 untreated individuals, the researchers project total cost savings ? on top of paying for treatment ? at more than $4 million per year.
All of the studies by the University of Maryland in Baltimore County are online at baltimorehealth.org.
