Who pays for addiction treatment services?
Addiction treatment is paid by federal government, state/local government and private insurance. In FY 1997, $11.9 billion was spent on treatment for substance use disorders. Between 1987 and 1997, the average annual growth rate of expenditures for substance use disorders was 2.5 percent. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA) data for FY 1997 show that the majority of funding for substance use treatment expenditures was from public sector funding (64 percent). The Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant provides approximately 40 percent of the public funds spent on treatment and prevention in the states. Entitlement programs, such as Medicaid, are another important source of funding. Funding of substance use prevention and treatment services for substance use disorders is provided by federal, state and local governments. State and federal governments share financial responsibility in the area of Medicaid, where states are increasingly using managed
