Running head: EXCESSIVE COSTS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE !

Excessive Costs of Substance Abuse

in the United States and The Effect on the Brain

Madison Evans

Youngstown State University

Contemporary Nursing 2610

Dr.Louise Aurilio

2016 Fall Term

Final Paper
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Abstract

Addiction and drug abuse is a very prevalent and concerning issue currently regarding today’s

healthcare. Deaths occur every day, however, some of those everyday deaths that are negatively

affecting healthcare can be prevented each day. The immense amount of money that the

healthcare workforce faces every day is horrific, and in turn, can ultimately be decreased.

Furthermore, the addictive effects certain drugs and toxins place on the brain make it even harder

for individuals to achieve cessation. With the increasing money spent toward drug-related

patients each year, along with the increasing death rates and addiction, this problems has been

shown to likely keep increasing rather than decreasing.

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Excessive Costs of Substance Abuse in the United States and

the Effect on the Brain

There are an innumerable different problems regarding healthcare, all the way from

health insurance to an altogether effect of high-cost health care that usually leads to preventable

deaths. According to Marcus Bacchuber, Brenden Saloner, and Chinazo Cunningham, the use of

tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is a an excessively prevalent problem in the United States.

Drug-induced deaths are ranked at number twelve with 46,471. Among the 700 billion costs of

substance abuse, deaths caused by overdose of illicit drugs and alcohol are a main source

(Bacchuber, Saloner, & Barry, 2014). However, the how these toxins effect the brain is an early

determining factor on the thoughts and actions of a myriad of victims and addicts.

“Your brain is just three pounds of gray-and-white matter that rests in your skull, and it is

your own personal ‘mission control.’” Over a period of time, after the brain has been exposed to

a certain drug stimulant, it can lead to addiction. Addiction is a very serious brain disease, in

which a person is unable to cease use of a stimulus, regardless of its effects and how it

deteriorates the brain and the rest of the body. Drugs can affect a variety of different part of the

brain, however, they specifically affect three different major areas of the brain. These three areas

include the brainstem, the limbic system, and the cerebral cortex. The brain stem ultimately

controls how one functions from day to day, including the process of digestion, the movement of

blood, and the process of breathing. Furthermore, the limbic system control emotional responses,

such as receiving pleasure from eating a desired food. Lastly, the cerebral cortex makes up about

seventy-five percent of the brain, and controls hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting, planning, solving

problems, and making decisions. The two major ways that drugs work in the brain include
EXCESSIVE COSTS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE !4

imitating the brain’s natural chemical messenger’s and overstimulating the “reward circuit” of

the brain. Drugs such as marijuana and heroin have certain chemical structures that mimic the

brain’s neurotransmitters that naturally occur. However, other drugs such as cocaine and

methamphetamine leads to nerve cells releasing an excessive amount of dopamine or preventing

the normal recycling of dopamine (National Institute on Drug Abuse,2002). The way that drugs

affect the brain, along with the rates of addiction, the costs of substance abuse is a major problem

facing today’s healthcare services.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports annual overall cost of $712 billion,

with tobacco leading with $295 billion, alcohol with $224 billion, and illicit drugs with $193

billion. The issue of drug abuse puts the adolescent at an early risk, as well as those accompanied

with mental illnesses. Adolescents are at an increased risk of vulnerability, while those suffering

from mental illness are at a particular risk as well. On an annual basis, 40 million injuries or

illnesses occur as a result of tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs. Approximately 460,000 deaths

were recorded in 2000 from the use of drug abuse and smoking. In addition to vulnerability,

approximately 31% of homeless Americans suffer from either drug abuse or alcoholism. In

addition, approximately 60% of adults in Federal prisons were admitted due to drug-related

crimes. Prenatal exposure also leads to an increase in educational costs. For example, children

with prenatal cocaine exposure are 1.5 times more likely to need special education services in

school, approximately $23 million each year (National Institute on Drug Abuse,2002). With the

increasingly high percentage rate and specific vulnerability of groups, the consequences of the

tremendous amount of healthcare costs has to be paid for somehow, such as the help of

Medicare.
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Medicare has a myriad of advantages, including the fact that it pays for treatment for

substance abuse in outpatient and inpatient care. According to the Center for Medicare

Advocacy, the services that are covered for alcohol and substance abuse include psychotherapy,

patient education regarding diagnosis and treatment, and post-hospitalization follow-up. On a

recent study, Medicare paid over $13 billion of its $57 billion hospital costs for drug related

issues. An estimated average of almost 1 out of every 4 Medicare dollars was spent on inpatient

hospital care for substance abuse patients. In addition, one out of every five Medicare hospital

admissions were also accounted for substance abuse patients. In addition, societal costs of illicit

drugs, alcohol, and tobacco produce an annual cost of over $532 billion (six percent of the

nation’s income). Even though the success rate to reduce these expenses have been reduced,

there are many ways in order to do so. The past decade shows in increase not only in adolescent

use of addictive drugs, but it also showed an increase in the use of adults as well. Furthermore,

the costs of disease and healthcare issues due to these problems greatly surpasses that of the

actual costs of the addictive substances. These healthcare issues that exceed the profit costs

include disease, premature death, lost productivity, theft and violence, unwanted and unplanned

sex, interdiction, law enforcement, prosecution, incarceration, and probation (Center for

Medicare advocacy, 2015).

Substance abuse poses such a detrimental cause of deaths in the United States, including

premature deaths. The success rates for decreasing the great amount of healthcare costs has

shown not to be successful recently. However, by educating and enlightening people who are

unaware of potential dangers and risks, a potential exists to make the overdose deaths, premature

deaths, and substance abuse rates decline

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References

Bacchuber, M. A., Saloner, B.,Cunningham, C. O., and Barry, C. L. (2014,August 25). Annual
Death Rates in the United States. Retrieved from
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Causes_of_Death#sthash.5SkBbps2.dpbs

Center for Medicare Advocacy. (2015, May). Medicare Coverage of Mental Health and

Substance Abuse Services. Retrieved from

http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/medicare-info/medicare-coverage-of-mental-health-

services/

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drug Abuse is Costly. Retrieved from

http://archives.drugabuse.gov/about/welcome/aboutdrugabuse/magnitude/

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Brain and Addiction. Retrieved from

https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/brain-and-addiction\

National Institute of Drug Abuse. Adolescent Brain. Retrieved from

https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/adolescent-brain

University, G. (2002, August). Substance Abuse: Facing the Costs. Retrieved from

https:hpi.georgetown.edu/agingsociety/pubhtml/abuse/abuse.html