Fight against substance use disorder is costing Missouri over $8 billion – Missourinet

Missouri’s estimated economic cost associated with fighting substance use disorder is $8.5 billion. That’s according to Nora Bock, director of the Division of Behavioral Health. She spoke before a taskforce of lawmakers saddled with trying to address the continuing problem.

Rep. John Black, R-Springfield, does some number crunching to compare that large number to.

“So, the lead department fighting this problem in the state of Missouri has a budget of about $272 million compared to an $8.5 billion cost to the state of Missouri, if my comparisons are correct,” he said.

Some of that cost includes impacts to law enforcement, correctional centers, hospital emergency room visits, and treatment centers.

Bock said that communities need to be made aware of resources available to help with what they need. Part of that comes from Missouri’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline.

“So, impressions is how often an ad or material is seen whether that’s billboards or you know, things on websites,” she said. “But for FY24, there were over 133 million impressions and up to 27 million just since this May.”

Also, during that same period, Missouri’s 988 system received over 95,000 phone calls and over 15,000 text messages.

But housing remains a barrier to getting treatment for substance use disorder.

“So, I can’t overstate that there is a huge lack of affordable housing in the state of Missouri whether that’s just for low-income individuals or individuals who struggle with behavioral health challenges,” she said.

Bock argues that you cannot successfully recover from substance use disorder or from a mental illness if you do not have a safe place to lay your head down at night.

Another cost associated Missouri addressing substance use disorder is the state’s workforce problem.

“The community has been successful in attracting a workforce largely due to the CCBHO model, but we have a shortage of bodies coming down the pike,” she said. “I don’t know what to do about a shortage of bodies, but it does mean we have to step up our efforts in attracting people to the behavioral health profession.”

The division serves under the direction of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, the lead agency for most of the taskforce’s work.

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