Cost Comparison | Why People don't seek treatment

Teen Challenge offers low cost treatment. According to recent studies, the average cost for a 30 day program is $3,840. Teen Challenge offers a 365 day program for $750. The difference is staggering.










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Table 1. Estimated Total Costs for Substance Abuse Treatment and Cost per Admission, by Type of Care: 1997 (inflated to 2002 cost levels)
Type of Care
Annual Treatment Costs
Annual Admissions
Cost per Admission




Non-Hospital Residential (n=48)
$2,736,348,408
712,643
$3,840
Outpatient Methadone (n=44)
$967,417,204
130,472
$7,415
Outpatient Non-Methadone (n=222)
$3,083,179,206
2,151,694
$1,433
Source: ADSS Cost Study, Office of Applied Studies, July 2003.
(Costs updated to 2002 level in Tables 1 and 2.)



Many people do not enter treatment due to financial constraints. The graph below shows that close to 40% of addicts cannot enter treatment due to the high cost







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Among those who perceived an unmet need for treatment, the most common reasons reported for not receiving treatment were not being ready to stop using the substance and the cost of treatment