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February
2001
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
 National Estimates of Expenditures
for Substance Abuse
Treatment, 1997
About 11 percent of the adult
population of the United States will suffer from a substance abuse
(SA) problem, including alcohol and/or drug abuse, during the
course of a year. Of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide
in 1990, alcohol use was fourth. The social cost of substance
abuse in the United States in 1995 has been estimated at $276
billion. Given the magnitude of SA-related morbidity and mortality
and this enormous cost, society should know how much is being
invested in SA treatment. Moreover, major changes over the last 10
years in the organization and financing of health care make the
tracking over time of our investment in substance abuse treatment
paramount.
This report is based on a larger
study of mental health and substance abuse (MH/SA) treatment
expenditures designed to provide periodic expenditure estimates.
Because SA alone is an important social problem and a difficult
health care challenge, this report examines questions specifically
for substance abuse. 
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