Which is Cheaper: Active Addiction or Online Addiction Treatment?
In today’s digital age information about online addiction treatment is everywhere. Generally, people talk about how and where to get treatment, what’s involved, how it works, etc. Yet, rarely do we see the financial aspects of online addiction treatment.
Since 1999, more than 932,000 Americans have died from a drug overdose. In 2020, nearly 75% of all drug overdose deaths involved an Opioid (such as Fentanyl or Oxycodone). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) attributes the dramatic rise in deaths to the massive proliferation of prescription Opioid Painkillers in the 1990s and 2000s.
As a result, prescription Opioids became easier to obtain, misuse, and become dependent on. The increased supply led to a decrease in cost. As with other licit and illicit substances, the legal supply of a drug often affects street prices and the national rate of addiction. (source: https://www.addictioncenter.com)
Not Everyone Who Gets Addicted to Opioids has Health Insurance
In 2018, Tennessee was the 16th largest state with a population of 6,586,400. 35.5% of Tennessee residents had incomes below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which was higher than the U.S. share (30.4%).
Of the 6,586,400 Tennessee population, 666,116 adult residents did not have health insurance. That’s 12.1% of the adult population who are uninsured. These are the “Self-Pay” candidates for online addiction treatment. (source: https://www.kff.org/)
According to the White House 3.7% of Tennessee residents polled reported using an illicit drug other than marijuana in the past month.
(Source: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov)
It’s probably safe to say that not everyone who uses drugs was completely honest about their drug use due to fear of being caught, possibly pushing this number upwards of 4%.
The Cost of Being Addicted to Opioids
To determine whether or not someone can save money by leaving their drug habit behind and starting online addiction treatment you first have to look at the cost of being addicted. And, for this example we are using the costs for outpatient, online addiction treatment, which typically costs a fraction of what inpatient treatment costs.
To begin you have to look at the average daily use of an opioid addict along with current street drug prices. Thankfully, there’s information available online that can give us some fairly accurate numbers to work with. That said, there are variances in these numbers depending on where you look, and which city/state drugs are purchased in.
We found what we feel are average street drug prices and average daily drug use based on internet research, as well as one-on-one communication with hundreds of opioid-addicted people over the last seven years. Please keep in mind, this article is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered fact.
Two Types of Daily Narcotic (Opioid) Drug Users
For this example, we are using what we feel are the two most common type of opioid drug user profiles:
- Heroin Users
- Pain Pill Users
There are slight differences between the two drug user types such as purchase frequency, average amount purchased, and of course the cost of the drugs they buy.
Daily Drug Usage for Heroin and Pain Pill Users
Below is the each drug user type’s estimated daily usage:
- Heroin Users – The average daily habit is 1.5 grams.
- Pain Pill Users – The average daily habit is 100 milligrams
Street Prices for Heroin and Oxycodone/OxyContin
- Heroin – The average cost per gram is $90
- Pain Pill Users – The average cost per milligram is $1.30
Daily Drug Habit Costs
- Heroin Users – $135 per day. (Average cost per gram is $90 x 1.5 grams per day)
- Pain Pill Users – $130 per day. (Average cost per milligram is $13 x 100 milligrams per day)
Monthly Drug Habit Costs
Looking at monthly drug habit costs is where the numbers really start to add up. It makes you wonder where street drug users find the money to support their drug habit, doesn’t it?
- Heroin Users – $4050 per month.
- Pain Pill Users – $3900 per month.
The Cost of Insurance-Based Online Addiction Treatment
For many Tennesseans the cost for online drug treatment is $0 thanks to their having TennCare health insurance. TennCare MCO’s AmeriGroup (now Wellpoint), BlueCare and United Healthcare cover 100% of their treatment costs and medication costs, making it a no-brainer if money is a concern for getting clean.
Patients with commercial insurance will often be required to pay a copay for their visit costs which can range from $20 to $60 on average. Suboxone and its generic counterpart medications may also have a copay of roughly $10-$15. Keeping in mind, these money-saving generic Suboxone tablets and films are extremely effective and comparable to the original Suboxone sublingual films.
What About Self-Pay Costs for Online Addiction Treatment?
Many outpatient Suboxone clinics in Tennessee charge $400 per month. Nashville Addiction Clinic offers two payment scenarios to help accommodate most any budget:
- Pay $370 per month (Save $50)
- Or, pay $210 every two weeks
Self-Pay Suboxone Prescription Costs
Suboxone medication costs without health insurance can get expensive. However, as mentioned above, there are now money-saving generics that perform equally as well as the original Suboxcone sublingual films. They come in film or tablet form and cost roughly 1/4th the cost of the original Suboxone films.
GoodRX Makes Generic Suboxone Even Cheaper
GoodRX.com is a coupon store for prescription drugs that costs nothing to use, but can save people thousands of dollars on prescription medications, including Suboxone medications. Generic Suboxone films and tablets can be purchased using the GoodRX Discount Card, saving people hundreds of dollars at every visit to their pharmacy.
Note: Nashville Addiction Clinic has partnered with a pharmacy to provide Suboxone medication delivery. Suboxone tablets and films can be shipped overnight to your doorstep for roughly $12.
As of this writing, the average cost for 56 generic Suboxone tablets using the free GoodRX Discount Card is $86.36. Keep in mind, generic Suboxone tablet and film costs can vary by $20 to $60 based on availability. Also note that prices ranged from store-to-store from $69.34 to $147.11.
Just How Much Can a Self-Pay Street Opioid User Save by Starting Online Addiction Treatment?
Knowing that TennCare insured patients will pay $0 every month, and commercially-insured patients could pay very little for treatment and medications per month, it’s really only fair to compare the cost of online addiction treatment for those without health insurance – the self-pay patients who pay $370 per month for treatment and roughly $100 for medications (based on current GoodRX.com prices).
Estimated Self-Pay Monthly Treatment Costs = $470
Compare this to what each drug user type spends and it becomes obvious that online addiction treatment is without a doubt a great way to save thousands of dollars per month, Not to mention, provides a much healthier, safer lifestyle for both individuals and families.
- Heroin Users will save $3520 per month using online addiction treatment.
- Pain Pill Users will save $3370 per month using online addiction treatment.
Clearly, money can be a motivator for starting online addiction treatment. But, more importantly is the quality of life gained for yourself and your family. Nothing disrupts a family more than opioid addiction in the home.
Save Money, While Greatly Improving Your Life
If you’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and are ready to possibly save over $3000 per month, we can help! Choose a link below to register for online addiction treatment now. You can even get seen “same-day” most weekdays.