REDUCED SUBSTANCE-ABUSE-RELATED HEALTH-CARE COSTS AMONG VOLUNTARY PARTICIPANTS IN ALCOHOLICS-ANONYMOUS

Objective: This study examined differences in outcomes, alcoholism tre atment utilization, and costs between alcoholic individuals with no pr evious treatment history who chose to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or to seek help from a professional outpatient alcoholism treatment p rovider. Methods: Participants in this three-year prospective study we re recruited at alcoholism information and referral services and at de toxification units in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chi square and t tes ts and repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to examine dat a gathered from interviews with 201 participants at baseline and at on e and three years. Results: At baseline, participants who chose to att end AA meetings (N=135) were not significantly different from those wh o chose professional outpatient treatment (N=66) in sex, marital statu s, employment, race, and symptoms of alcohol dependence and depression . However, AA attendees had lower incomes and less education and exper ienced more adverse consequences of drinking at baseline than did thos e who sought outpatient care, suggesting somewhat worse prognoses for the AA group. Over the three-year study, per-person treatment costs fo r the AA group were 45 percent (or $1,826) lower than costs for the ou tpatient treatment group. Despite the lower costs, outcomes for the AA group at both one and three years were similar to those of the outpat ient treatment group. Conclusions: Voluntary AA participation may sign ificantly reduce professional treatment costs. Clinicians, researchers , and policymakers should recognize the potential health care cost off sets offered by AA and other self-help organizations.