July 12, 2007 |
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In 2005, there were almost 614,300 substance abuse treatment admissions with known primary source of payment in the States with sufficient data for analysis. Nearly 81,100 of these admissions (13 percent) reported Medicaid as their primary expected or actual source of payment. Other sources of payment included other government payments7 (35 percent), self-pay (23 percent), no charge (free, charity, special research, or teaching) (12 percent), Blue Cross/Blue Shield (2 percent), other health insurance companies (4 percent), Medicare (1 percent), worker’s compensation (less than 1 percent), or other unspecified sources (10 percent).
Compared to admissions paid by other sources, higher proportions of Medicaid-paid substance abuse treatment admissions in 2005 were young, female, and/or Black. Medicaid-paid admissions were more likely than other admissions to be younger than 18 years old (21 vs. 7 percent) (Figure 1) and more likely to be female (52 vs. 30 percent). Medicaid-paid admissions were also more likely than those paid by other sources to be Black (26 vs. 19 percent) and less likely to be Hispanic (5 vs. 11 percent) (Figure 2).
Age | Paid by Medicaid |
Paid by Other Sources |
---|---|---|
Younger than 18 | 21% | 7% |
18-25 | 20% | 24% |
26-34 | 21% | 23% |
35-49 | 31% | 37% |
50 or Older | 7% | 9% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Race/Ethnicity | Paid by Medicaid |
Paid by Other Sources |
---|---|---|
White | 65% | 66% |
Black | 26% | 19% |
Hispanic | 5% | 11% |
Other | 4% | 4% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Medicaid-paid admissions aged 18 and older were more likely than other admissions in that age group to be "not in the labor force" (42 vs. 26 percent) and less likely to be employed full time (8 vs. 28 percent). However, Medicaid-paid and other admissions showed less difference in their proportions of admissions that were unemployed (44 vs. 38 percent) or employed part time (6 vs. 8 percent).8
The majority of both Medicaid-paid admissions and other admissions reported alcohol or marijuana as the primary substance of abuse in 2005.9 However, Medicaid-paid admissions were less likely than other admissions to report alcohol as the primary substance of abuse (28 vs. 42 percent) and more likely to report marijuana (26 vs. 17 percent) (Figure 3).
Substance | Paid by Medicaid |
Paid by Other Sources |
---|---|---|
Alcohol | 28% | 42% |
Marijuana | 26% | 17% |
Opiates | 17% | 14% |
Cocaine | 16% | 15% |
Stimulants | 7% | 9% |
Other | 6% | 3% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
In 2005, admissions primarily paid or expected to be paid by Medicaid were less likely than admissions paid by other sources to be referred by the criminal justice system (29 vs. 39 percent) and more likely to be referred to substance abuse treatment by community providers (18 vs. 13 percent) (Figure 4).
Referral | Paid by Medicaid |
Paid by Other Sources |
---|---|---|
Criminal Justice System | 29% | 39% |
Self/Individual | 29% | 29% |
Other Community | 18% | 13% |
Alcohol/Drug Abuse Care Provider | 12% | 10% |
Other | 12% | 9% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
The type of substance abuse treatment service to which clients were admitted differed by source of payment.10 In 2005, Medicaid-paid admissions were less likely than those paid by other sources to receive detoxification treatment services (9 vs. 24 percent), more likely to receive ambulatory treatment services (77 vs. 60 percent), and about as likely to receive rehabilitation/residential treatment services (14 vs. 16 percent).
The Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once. State admission data are reported to TEDS by the Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse treatment. There are significant differences among State data collection systems. Sources of State variation include completeness of reporting, facilities reporting TEDS data, clients included, and treatment resources available. See the annual TEDS reports for details. Approximately 1.8 million records are included in TEDS each year. The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute). Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through February 1, 2006. Access the latest TEDS reports at: |
The DASIS Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated. For questions about this report please e-mail: shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov. |
This page was last updated on July 11, 2008. |
SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.
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