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m. RESULTS 



In 1991, Medicaid spent $4.2 billion, or 19.2 percent, of its $21.6 billion in inpatient hospital 

 expenditures on substance abuse-related care. Based upon these results, it is estimated that for 

 fiscal year 1994, substance abuse related costs would rise to $7.4 billion. The largest share of 

 Medicaid substance abuse costs in hospitals — $3.4 billion or 81 percent of the total costs ~ was 

 for medical treatment of substance abuse-related illnesses and conditions and for the increased 

 length of stay required for patients with a coexisting substance abuse disorder. Treatment for 

 obvious substance abuse disorders such as drug overdoses, delirium tremens, drug or alcohol 

 dependence and abuse, and substance abuse psychoses in general and psychiatric hospitals 

 accounted for $0.7 billion of the $4.2 billion. 



Most surprising, our analysis of the epidemiologic evidence reveals that 72 conditions requiring 

 hospitalization are wholly or partially attributable to substance abuse (they are listed in the 

 Appendix). And this list is probably not complete; though we reviewed more than 3,000 

 articles and papers, we were limited by what q)idemiologic research has been done to date. 



The following charts and tables display and describe our findings in detail. 



-21' 



