Cost researchers are starting to investigate long-term costs. One research group has distinguished between the alcohol treatment costs incurred during the first 6 months of treatment and costs incurred later (Goodman et al. 1996). One such study of 879 insured employees and retirees who underwent alcoholism treatment found that the treatment setting (inpatient vs. outpatient) during the first 6 months had no bearing on either the need for or the total costs of later treatment (Goodman et al. 1996). Moreover, the intensity of treatment during the first 6 months had no effect on later treatment costs for patients diagnosed as alcohol abusers, although more intense treatments in the initial 6 months slightly reduced later treatment costs among patients diagnosed as alcohol dependent. Treatment after the 6-month mark was more common among alcohol-dependent patients (as opposed to alcohol abusers) and those who also abused other drugs. Treatment costs beyond the first 6 months were greater for those with drug abuse problems, liver disease, or coexisting psychiatric disorders, largely because these factors increased the likelihood that long-term treatment would occur in an inpatient rather than an outpatient setting.
