Increased opiate addictions put strain on budgets

An increase in people with addictions to opiates is putting a stain on state budget allocation to programs that help people out of addiction.

The Grand Rapids Press reports the state spent $6.5 million on methadone treatments. Methadone is a synthetic opiate that has been approved for use in treating opiate addictions by disrupting the withdrawal experienced by those quitting. The drug blocks specific neural receptors that have grown dependent on the opiates. Opiates include the illegal heroin and legal drugs like morphine and oxycontin.

But the $6.5 million expenditure in 2009 is a 22 percent increase over 2008 expenditures. In addition to the methadone spending, the state subsidizes $3.25 million to $5.2 million for counseling connected with the methadone.

So how many people are being helped with this money?

The number of opiate addicts who received state-subsidized treatment for heroin, morphine and prescription drugs climbed from 8,758 people in 2000 to 19,806 people in 2010, according to Community Health data.

In Grand Rapids alone, the numbers at two methadone clinics look like this:

At the Life Guidance facility, clinicians in 2010 gave 83,949 daily methadone doses to patients at $8.70 per dose, state records show. The clinic had 351 government-funded clients last year, with 122 starting in 2010.

Medicaid contributed $742,000 of the total $1.17 million in expenditures for the clinic, with only $69,000 in local funds.
Another clinic in Grand Rapids, Eastern Clinic, serves mostly self-pay clients and has about 165 on its roster.

Proponents of the programs say the methadone treatments prevent crime and assist in public health issues — such as controlling HIV or hepatitis viruses.