Alcoholism treatment and total health care utilization and costs. A four-year longitudinal analysis of federal employees
H. D. Holder and J. O. Blose
This study examines the effect of alcoholism treatment services on overall
health care utilization and costs for health insurance enrollees under the
Federal Employees Health Benefit Program with Aetna Insurance Company, 1980
through 1983. Claims filed by 1697 treated alcoholics (and their family
members) continuously enrolled with Aetna during the study period were
examined. In the years prior to initial alcoholism treatment, alcoholics
incurred gradually increasing total health care costs on the average. These
costs rose dramatically in the six months prior to treatment, began to
decline after treatment initiation, and continued to fall during several
follow-up years. For alcoholics less than 45 years of age, costs eventually
declined to a point comparable with the lowest pretreatment levels.
