The cost of alcohol use disorder

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

 

What if I need assistance?

If you need assistance connecting your patients to AUD or substance use treatment, please contact Provider Services at 855-558-1443.

 

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

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

3Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019

4Internal Claims Data, 2022

5National Institute on Drug Use, 2018 

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

 

WIBCBS-CD-003146-22 (AWI-NU-0361-22)