Diagnosed Addiction Costs Employer-Sponsored Insurance $35.3 Billion Annually

In 2018, addiction treatment cost U.S. employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) plans about $35.8 billion annually. Of the 162 million non-Medicare-eligible enrollees with ESI in 2018, about 1.4% (2.3 million enrollees) had an addiction disorder diagnosis. The annual attributable medical expenditure was $15,640 per affected enrollee, with $6,502 for inpatient treatment, $8,628 for outpatient treatment, and $1,503 for outpatient medications related to addiction treatment. Medical expenditures for addiction disorders represent the minimum direct cost that employers and health insurers face because not all people with addiction are diagnosed, but they may . . .