ADAM: WELCOME BACK TO "CLOSE
UP."
THE LAST TIME THIS STUDY WAS
DONE, THE FIGURE WAS ESTIMATED
AT $1.14 BILLION.
THERE HAS BEEN A BIG JUMP AND IT
IS EXPECTED TO BE HIGHER THE
NEXT TIME THE STUDY IS DONE.
JOINING US IS LINDA SAUNDERS AND
BRIAN.
FIRST OF ALL, THAT NUMBER
HEADLINE OF 2.6 BILLION DOLLARS.
WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT
ADDICTION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE?
LINDA: WE KNOW WE HAVE A HUGE
ADDICTION PROBLEM AND I THINK WE
ARE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT
ADDICTION CAUSES PERSONAL AND
SOCIAL PROBLEMS.
WHAT WE WERE NOT AWARE OF UNTIL
WE DID THE FIRST STUDY RELEASED
IN 2014 WAS THE ENORMOUS COST
SUBSTANCE ABUSE PAY -- PLACES ON
OUR STATE.
FOR ME, PERSONALLY, THE BIGGEST
SURPRISE AFTER THE FIRST REPORT
WAS THE IMPACT ON OUR BUSINESSES
AND OUR WORK FORCE.
WE KNOW THAT ADDICTION CAUSES
INCREASED COST OF HEALTH CARE
AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, BUT
REALLY, IT IS EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT WE UNDERSTAND THE
IMPACT ON OUR BUSINESSES AND
WORKFORCE.
ADAM: WE WILL GET TO
PRODUCTIVITY IN A SECOND.
BRIAN, HOW DID YOU PULL TOGETHER
THIS INFORMATION?
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THAT
NUMBER?
BRIAN: THERE IS A LOT OF DATA
SOURCES INVOLVED.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THERE
HAS BEEN A LOT OF RESEARCH ON
THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES THAT
DRUG AND ALCOHOL MISUSE HAVE ON
INDIVIDUAL, SO WE RELY, TO A
DEGREE, ON PRIOR RESEARCH.
WE KNOW ALCOHOL INFLUENCES A LOT
OF MEDICAL COST, PSORIASIS OF
THE LIVER AND A WHOLE HOST OF
OTHER IMPACT.
WE KNOW THEY ARE ADVOCATED IN A
LOT OF CRIMINAL ACTS AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE COST.
IT IS A MATTER OF PULLING
TOGETHER DATA SOURCES FROM
JUSTICE STATISTICS, MEDICAL
RECORD, BUSINESSES.
IT IS A BIG TASK AND IT IS A
MATTER OF PUTTING TOGETHER AN
AWFUL LOT OF INFORMATION.
ADAM: AS LINDA MENTIONED --
MENTIONED, THE NUMBER ONE COST
IS TO WORKER PRODUCTIVITY.
BRIAN: AGAIN, THERE HAS BEEN A
GOOD DEAL OF RESEARCH THAT HAS
DOCUMENTED THE IMPACT THAT DRUG
AND ALCOHO MISUSE HAS ON
INDIVIDUALS IN THE WORKPLACE.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
IMPACTS THAT OFTENTIMES IS AN
TALK ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT IT
KEEPS A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT OF THE
WORKFORCE AND WHEN WE DOCUMENTED
THAT FOR N HAMPSHIRE, WE COME
TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT IS
OVER 12,000 INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT
IN THE LABOR FORCE AS A RESULT
OF HAVING A DRUG OR ALCOHOL
MISUSE PROBLEM.
OF COURSE, HAD THEY BEEN IN THE
LABOR FORCE, THEY WOULD HAVE
BEEN EARNING MONEY, SO WE
SUBTRACT WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE
EARNED.
THERE ARE 100,000 OR SO
INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN THE LABOR
FORCE THAT HAVE SOME ALCOHOL OR
DRUG MISUSE ISSUE.
RESEARCH SHOWS THOSE INDIVIDUALS
TEND TO BE LESS PRODUCTIVE AND
WE MEASURE THAT IN TERMS OF
THEIR EARNINGS.
THEY EARN LESS.
WHEN YOU ADD THAT UP, YOU GET A
VERY LARGE NUMBER, OVER $1
BILLION.
ADAM: THAT $2.6 BILLION IS BIG,
BUT YOU SAY IT WILL BE EVEN
HIGHER THE NEXT TIME YOU DO THE
STUDY?
LINDA: THAT IS BECAUSE THE DATA
IS FOR THE MOST PART FROM 2014
AND THAT IS BEFORE WE WERE EVEN
IN THE HEIGHT OF THE OPIOID
EPIDEMIC WE ARE EXPERIENCING
NOW.
ADAM: SO WE ARE GOING TO SEE
THESE NUMBERS GO UP,
UNFORTUNATELY.
ONE OF THE BIG TAKEAWAYS FROM
THIS RESEARCH IS THAT ALCOHOL IS
STILL TAKING A TREMENDOUS TOLL
ON OUR SOCIETY.
WE HAVE ALL OF THIS IMPETUS
PLACED ON THE OPIOID CRISIS AND
WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE RIGHT IN
FRONT OF US THAT HAS BEEN
NORMALIZED IN A WAY.
LINDA: I THINK SO, BUT WE CANNOT
FORGET ALCOHOL KILLS MORE PEOPLE
IN NEW HAMPSHIRE THAN ALL OTHER
DRUGS COMBINED.
WE ALSO HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND
THAT WE MIGHT BE IN THE MIDST OF
AN OPIOID CRISIS.
I WAS SPEAKING TO A FORMER STATE
TROOPER AND HE SAID A FEW YEARS
AGO, WE WERE IN THE MIDST OF A
METH CRISIS.
NOW WE SEE CARFENTANIL, THIS
EXTREMELY POTENT SYNTHETIC DRUG
KILLING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE AND
A FEW YEARS FROM NOW, IT MAY
WELL BE SOMETHING ELSE.
ADAM: ALCOHOL IS REALLY PART OF
THE HEADLINE HERE, YOU ARE
NODDING YOUR HEAD.
BRIAN: WE ARE IN DANGER OF
FORGETTING ABOUT THE PROBLEM
ALCOHOL CAUSES.
WE HAVE KNOWN ABOUT IT AS A
SOCIETAL PROBLEM FOR A LOT
LONGER THAN WE HAVE DRUGS.
THAT IS PART OF A REASON DRUGS
ARE NOT AS BIG IT -- BUT -- BIG
OF A NUMBER.
THERE HAVE MUCH -- NOT BEEN AS
MUCH RESEARCH IN THE NEGATIVE
CONSEQUENCES OF DRUGS.
WE DO A VERY GOOD JOB RECORDING
MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES ATTRIBUTED
TO ALCOHOL AND WE DON'T DO THAT
TO DRUGS.
THAT IS ONE SMALL EXAMPLE OF
DATA WHERE WE ARE VERY GOOD AT
ACKNOWLEDGING THE IMPACT ABOUT
THE HALL, BUT NOT DRUGS AND
THERE ARE MANY - ALCOHOL, BUT
NOT DRUGS AND THERE ARE MANY
OTHERS.
ADAM: WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT
THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT?
LINDA: I THINK THE DATA IN TH
REPORT.
THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS IN THE
REPORT.
THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT,
PARTICULARLY TWO PROVISIONS, THE
PROVISION THAT ALLOWED STATES TO
EXPAND THE MEDICAID PROGRAM IN
THE PROVISION AND THE
PROVISION THAT REQUIRED HEALTH
PLAN TO REQUIRE -- TO PROVIDE
SUBSTANCE ABUSE -- THAT IS
INCREASED ACCESS TO TREATMENT
FOR PEOPLE.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE IMPACT
OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE ON OUR LABOR
FORCE, WE KNOW THAT ADDICTION IS
A CHRONIC RELAPSING DISEASE AND
PEOPLE RECOVER FROM IT.
IF WE ENSURE THAT PEOPLE CANNOT
GE ACCESS -- CAN GET ACCESS TO
TREATMENT WHEN AND WHERE THEY
NEED IT, THEY CAN RECOVER AND
REENTER THE WORKFORCE.
WE SEE STORY AFTER STORY OF
PEOPLE WHO START IN THE CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM AS A RESULT OF
THEIR SUBSTANCE MISUSE.
MANY OF THEM ARE AVAILABLE TO
ACCESS DRUG COURT.
MOST OF THE SERVICES THAT PEOPLE
RECEIVE THROUGH THE DRUG COURT
PROGRAM ARE SUPPORTED BY
MEDICAID EXPANSION.
THEY GRADUATE, ENTER RECOVERY,
REENTER THE WORKFORCE, BECOME
EMPLOYEES ON EMPLOYER-SPONSORED
HEALTH PLANS AND WE ARE
REINVIGORATING THE WORKFORCE.
ADAM: PEOPLE LOOK AT THE PRICE
TAG OF THINGS LIKE THE
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT AND MEDICAID
EXPANSION.
IN YOUR RESEARCH, YOU STATE THE
DRUG CRISIS IS A DRAG ON LOCAL
STATE TAX REVENUE.
ALMOST $90 MILLION WITH THESE
PROGRAMS.
BRIAN: IF YOU HAVE PEOPLE NOT IN
THE LABOR FORCE, OBVIOUSLY THEY
ARE NOT EARNING -- THEY ARE NOT
CONSUMING, THEY ARE NOT PAYING
TAXES THE WAY INDIVIDUALS WHO
WOULD BE IN THE LABOR FORCE AND
EARNING.
PEOPLE IN THE LABOR FORCE WHO
HAVE DRUG AND ALCOHOL MISUSE
ISSUES ARE EARNING LESS.
IT ALL REDUCES THE SIZE OF THE
NEW HAMPSHIRE ECONOMY BY, IN
TOTAL, ABOUT 3% OF THE NEW
HAMPSHIRE ECONOMY.
WHEN YOU SHRINK THE ECONOMY, YOU
ARE NOT GOING TO CONDUCT --
COLLECT AS MUCH AND THAT
ESTIMATE, WHICH I SAY IS
CONSERVATIVE, ABOUT $90 MILLION.
ADAM: A LOT OF PEOPLE FRAME THIS
WHEN WE WORRY ABOUT OUR KIDS AND
DRUGS.
WE ARE SEEING ADULTS AND OLDER
ADULTS ARE BEING IMPACTED AND
THEY ARE PART OF THE ISSUE
PERHAPS AS MUCH AS THE CHILDREN.
LINDA: I WILL LOOK TO BRIAN
ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THERE IS AN
AGE GROUP WITHIN THE POPULATION
THAT IS OUR PRIMARY WORKFORCE
AND THAT AGE GROUP TENDS TO BE
IMPACTED BY SUBSTANCE ABUSE
MISUSE.
BRIAN: ALCOHOL TENDS TO BE SHE
MILITARY OVER A LIFETIME.
-- TENDS TO BE CUMULATIVE OVER A
LIFETIME.
IT REPRESENTS THE LARGEST NUMBER
OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE AN
ALCOHOL PROBLEM AND THE ISSUE OF
DRUGS, WE USED TO THINK OF DRUGS
PRIMARILY AFFECTING YOUNG
PEOPLE.
ONE THING THE DATA SHOWS IS
UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT WE ARE
SEEING IS GREATER PROBLEM WITH
DRUG MISUSE AMONG OUR OLDER
POPULATION, AGES ABO 26.
I THINK THAT IS ONE OF THE
PROBLEMS THA IS COMPOUNDING AND
INCREASING THE COST OF SOCIETY
OF DRUGS.
ADAM: WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL
FOR WHAT THIS INFORMATION CAN
DO?
LINDA: I THINK THE GOAL IS FOR
POLICYMAKERS TO TAKE A LOOK AT
THIS INFORMATION AND AS THEY ARE
IN THE PROCESS OF SETTING
SPENDING PRIORITIES, TO REALIZE
THAT INVESTING IN POLICIES THAT
INCREASE ACCES TO TREATMENT,
MEDICAID EXPANSION, ENSURING
THAT PEOPLE HAVE COVERAGE, AND
AL SOMETHING IT -- CALLED THE
ALCOHOL FUND, WHICH PROVIDES
RESOURCE TO THE PREVENTION,
TREATMENT, AND RECOVERY SYSTEM,
THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT OUGHT
TO BE PRIORITIES FOR OUR
POLICYMAKERS DURING THIS BUDGET
SESSION.