Alcoholism treatment offset effects: An insurance perspective

This study investigates whether alcoholism treatment costs are offset by-re ductions in other medical treatment costs by comparing people treated for a lcoholism with a matched comparison group. The alcoholism treatment group i s defined by diagnoses of alcohol dependence, abuse, or psychoses from heal th insurance claims Fled between: January 1980 and June 1987. A comparison sample was matched on age, gender, and insurance coverage. In this primaril y methodological study, expected costs for nonalcoholism treatments were ca lculated from standardized regressions. Offset effects were measured from t he insurer's perspective through differences in expected total nonalcoholis m treatment costs in the periods preceding and following alcoholism treatme nt. Members of the alcoholism treatment group were more likely than the com parison group to be hospitalized and to need other (nonalcoholism) medical treatment, thus incurring higher total costs. Offset effects emerged for pa tients with alcohol abuse and without mental psychosis comorbidities.