GRST - $42 Billion U.S. Addiction Rehab Industry Poised for Growth
***Here are the top six things to know about this healthcare sector:
1. Addiction rehab market size: Marketdata estimates that the drug, alcohol and other addictions treatment industry will be worth $42 billion this year. Moderate but steady 5.2% annual growth in revenues is forecast through 2025, reaching $53 billion. The states provide most of the funding, and insurance coverage, including Medicaid, is increasing.
2. Reforms needed: With passage of the Affordable Care Act, 3-5 million new patients entered the system in need of substance abuse treatment, resulting in the opening of more treatment centers and “sober homes,” many of which engage in overbilling, patient brokering, and deceptive marketing. The industry needs to be cleaned up, but reforms could take five years to take full effect.
3. Competitive landscape: Some large chains exist, but the industry consists of mostly small operators. The top 9 treatment chains are estimated to capture $1.38 billion in revenues, and operate 214 treatment facilities. All private, for-profit centers treated 1.36 million patients in 2018, and took in $13.9 billion.
4. Number of patients in treatment facilities: A total of 3.7 million persons were treated in 2018, but there were 21 million persons in need of treatment. Only 11% of substance abusers actually receive treatment.
5. Demand for services: An estimated 53 million Americans aged 12+ were illicit drug abusers in 2018, according to government agencies. An estimated 4-6 million are opioid abusers, a figure that has soared in recent years.
6. Different types of treatment: Niche markets have emerged for the well-heeled that can pay out-of-pocket (think Hollywood celebrities) and new niches are emerging in areas such as: sex addiction, problem gamblers, Internet addiction, nicotine addiction, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and serving Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD.
