Annual Expenditures on Major Chronic Behavioral Health Problems

Heart disease and diabetes have total health expenditures many times greater than alcohol and drug disorders, while annual stroke and smoking health expenditures are only somewhat greater than alcohol and drug costs. Medically necessary health services for these other health behavior related disorders are routinely covered under private insurance as well as Medicare and Medicaid, as are health problems caused by smoking (prominently including heart disease and stroke).

Source: National Institutes of Health (1997). Disease-Specific Estimates of Direct and Indirect Costs of Illness and NIH Update. Department of Health and Human Services.

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