The cost of alcohol use disorder

Please note, this communication applies to Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Medallion and Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus (Anthem CCC Plus) offered by HealthKeepers, Inc.

 

The total economic cost of alcohol use disorder (AUD) was estimated to be $249 billion as of 2019, according to the CDC¹ with $27 billion coming from healthcare costs.² The CDC projected the total AUD economic impact on society to be $807 per person, per year.³

 

AUD and healthcare spending

 

Alcohol contributes to the highest amount of health plan spending related to substance use. 36% of Medicaid substance use claims were related to alcohol in 2020, accounting for over $129 million — an increase of 16% from 2019. Additionally, people with AUD are more likely to be high-cost claimants. In government and commercially insured patients across the country, the top 5% of high-cost claimants have either an existing AUD or health conditions resulting from alcohol use.⁴

 

AUD and the workforce

 

AUD also has a significant economic effect on the workforce by way of tardiness, absenteeism, employee turnover, and conflict. It causes a reduction in potential employees, customer base, and the taxpayer base.⁵

 

AUD and mortality

 

Alcohol use was directly tied to 95,000 deaths annually between 2011 and 2015, according to the CDC. This was more than all other illicit substances combined including opioids, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamines. The CDC estimates that alcohol-attributed disease resulted in almost 685,000 years of potential life lost (YPLL) for the same period. YPLL is the estimation of the average time a person would have lived had they not died prematurely.⁶

 

Below is the YPLL related directly or indirectly to AUD.

 

Cause	YPLL
Total YPLL	> 2.7 million
100% alcohol attributed disease	684,750
Suicide	334,058
Motor vehicle crashes	323,610
Liver disease	202,391
Heart disease	118,021
Cancer	88,729

 

Need assistance?

 

If you need assistance connecting your patients to AUD or substance use treatment, please contact Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Medallion Provider Services at 800‑901‑0020 or Anthem CCC Plus Provider Services at 855‑323‑4687.

 

¹Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019 https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/features/excessive-drinking.html 

² National Institute on Drug Use, 2018 https://archives.drugabuse.gov/trends-statistics/costs-substance-abuse

³ Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019

⁴ Internal Claims Data, 2022

⁵ National Institute on Drug Use, 2018 

⁶Center for Disease Control, 2020 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6939a6.htm

 

 

AVA-NU-0560-22