Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol ProblemsTHE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

2021 K Street NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20006

P: (202) 296-6922 F: (202) 296-0025

www.ensuringsolutions.org

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About Ensuring Solutions

Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems is a new research initiative at the George Washington University Medical Center, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts

Goal: Increase access to treatment for individuals with alcohol problems

Method: Provide research-based information and tools to help curb the avoidable health care and other costs associated with alcohol use and improve access to treatment for Americans who need it.

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Why treating alcohol problems matters to business 7.4% of full time workers drink in ways that put

them at risk of alcohol-related health problems and reduced productivity

Miss work almost twice as often as other workers Seek emergency department care 70% more often Stay in the hospital 3 days longer

$26 billion in health care costs each year 51 million extra workdays missed each year

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How do alcohol problems cost businesses? Lower productivity Lost workdays Extra health care use Other costs:

Workers compensation and disability Accidents and damage Turnover and worker replacement Diverted supervisory and co-worker time Workplace friction Family disruption

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Why Businesses May be Overlooking Alcohol Problems Spending on alcohol treatment has gone down –

now less than 0.1% of health care costs Few workers and family members use their health benefits Less than 0.3% of beneficiaries

EAPs offered as response to alcohol and other work and family life problems Few workers and family members use their EAP for alcohol problems Less than 0.5% of beneficiaries

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What is the Alcohol Cost Calculator?

New, easy-to-use, on-line tool from Ensuring Solutions Computes the costs of untreated alcohol problems to

individual companies Identifies steps that employers can take Research-based, using federal government data No cost, anonymous Endorsed by:

Washington Business Group on Health, National Business Coalition on Health, NIAAA, SAMHSA, JoinTogether, CADCA, Partnership for a Drug Free America

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Why an Alcohol Cost Calculator? A simple, quick, easy way for a company to quantify

its costs.

Demonstrates the value of investing in identifying and treating alcohol problems:

Businesses will save money in the long run and keep workers on the job and productive by investing in solutions

Addressing the problem doesn’t cost that much and the benefits are substantial to businesses, families and communities.

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How it works…

Go to www.alcoholcostcalculator.org

Identify your business from one of 10 categories

Enter the number of employees

A customized report, available instantly, details the findings, including suggested steps to take.

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What Businesses Can Do to Make Their Workplaces Safer, Healthier and More Productive Comprehensive Health Insurance Benefits

Average cost of upgrading is around $5 per beneficiary per year Equitable co-pays, deductibles, limits. Co-pays less than $10/session. It is being done!

Managing health plan benefits National Business Coalition on Health’s National Standardized Request

for Information at www.nbch.org Confidential screening and brief intervention Encourage primary care screening and treatment Monitoring utilization and outcomes

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What more can be done?

Employee Assistance Programs Two question alcohol quantity screener on all EAP calls Include alcohol screening in Wellness, Health Risk Appraisals and Stress

Management Programs

Work with other businesses and health care providers Use EAP and Health Plan data to build the case for the

effectiveness of employment-based alcohol treatment in business terms: Avoidable health care costs Avoidable productivity losses Avoidable absenteeism

Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol ProblemsGEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Eric Goplerud, Ph.D., Director

2021 K Street NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20006

P: (202) 296-6922 F: (202) 296-0025

www.ensuringsolutions.org