Typical Patterns and Cost of Alcoholism Treatment across a Variety of Populations and Providers

This paper presents data on the utilization of alcoholism treatment services in three populations of insurance enrollees: enrollees covered by the insurance plan of a large midwestern manufacturing firm, 1981-1987 (N = 1.425); enrollees of the California Health Insurance Plan of the Public Employees Retirement System, 1974-1976 (N = 766); U.S. government civilian employees enrolled with the Aetna Insurance Company, 1980-1983 (N = 1,697). The average age of the treated alcoholics in these three groups ranged from 37 to 51. Between two-thirds and three-quarters were male. Inpatient alcoholism treatment services were more frequently used than outpatient, with inpatient admissions averaging between 1.2 and 1.5 per person. For enrollees of the midwestern manufacturing firm, total alcoholism treatment costs averaged $4,665 per person (December 1985 dollars). The influence of insurance plan coverage and other factors on utilization patterns is discussed.