News

The Impact of FHM Reductions on Maine Citizens

Needing Substance Abuse Services

The Governor’s budget proposes eliminating $4.4 million from OSA’s FHM budget, reducing 

Treatment dollars by $3,961,520, representing almost 31% loss of OSA treatment budget

Prevention dollars by $670,460, representing 36% loss of prevention budget

Compounding the effects of the reduction in FHM funds for Maine OSA, the federal SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention Treatment Block Grant Maintenance of Effort will be compromised and Maine will lose $1.4 million in federal funds through federal Block Grant reductions. The total loss to OSA is then $6 million dollars.

The impact of the loss of FHM funds as well as the Block Grant fund reduction will most likely impact Maine’s Substance Abuse Treatment safety net by:

Reducing residential treatment programs from 13 to 3, (only emergency shelter detox)

Transitioning treatment to the lowest level of care in limited settings, reducing the number of treatment agencies and thus causing decreased client access

 Eliminating substance abuse treatment with HIV populations and an ACT program

 Greatly reducing funding for and the numbers of prevention services and programs for children, teens, college students and parents

 Healthy Maine Partnership will be funded at 64%

Programs will be reduced from 13 providers to 4

State wide media and prevention campaigns will be decreased

Underage drinking prevention programs will be severely curtailed

Cost offset of Treatment Services - The benefits of treatment far outweighs costs:

Treatment has been shown to have a benefit cost ration of 7:1. According to NIDA, however, the return on investing in treatment alone may exceed 12:1 that is every dollar spent on treatment can reduce future burden costs by $12 or more in reduced drug related crime, criminal justice and health care costs

Treatment leads to health and public safety cost reductions, health utilization savings, improved workplace development/jobs retention, Medicaid savings

The total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in Maine in 2010 is estimated at $1.8 billion or $ 907 for every resident in Maine. 

Maine fund for prevention and treatment is 0.2% of total cost of Maine’s budget spent on substance abuse and addiction (CASA 2005)

For every $100 Maine spends on Substance Abuse and Addiction, $0.71 is spent on prevention and treatment, $98.75 is spent on the burden to public programs, and $0.54 is spent on public compliance.

Maine 

Maine ranks #1 in treatment for opiate addiction, 8 times the national average. 

Maine is among those states in the nation with the highest rates for people needing but not receiving treatment for drug addiction.

There are waiting lists for people wanting treatment for addiction.

In Maine, outcome data shows that, with treatment, there is a/an

13% increase in employment

80% reduction in arrests

95% reduction in illicit substance use

64% decrease in homelessness

29% increase in family reunification

3% increase in independent living

 40-60% overall drug use reduction

40-60% crime rate reduction

40 % increase in employment