Wisconsin’s first-ever comprehensive report detailing the costs of excessive alcohol use was released today by Health First Wisconsin and its partners. It estimates that excessive alcohol use cost Wisconsinites $6.8 billion a year in 2012, or approximately $1,200 a person. Taxpayers pick up more than 40 percent of the costs, or approximately $2.9 billion a year
To put those numbers into context, here are a few comparisons:
• The $6.8 billion in annual costs from excessive alcohol consumption eclipses the state’s Department of Public Instruction budget ($6.2 billion, all funds).
• The cost of $1,200 per person is 40 times the average annual savings (per capita) from the income tax cut recommended by the Governor.
• Focusing just on the $2.9 billion share borne by taxpayers, that’s roughly the total of state General Fund spending for all of these three major parts of the Wisconsin budget: the University System, the Department of Corrections and state Shared Revenue for municipalities. “We’ve always known that Wisconsin has a serious problem with alcohol, but until today, most of us could only guess about the scale of the problem and the cost we all pay,” Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of Health First Wisconsin, said. “The results of the report are staggering.” Read more in the Health First WI press release.
The Burden of Excessive Alcohol Use in Wisconsin was created by academic researchers from the UW Population Health Institute. The researchers, Penny Black and Jason Paltzer, used rigorous scientific methods to calculate the financial burden of excessive alcohol use and how those costs are paid for in Wisconsin.
Resources relating to the new report, including summary sheets and county data, can be found on the Health First Wisconsin website.
Jon Peacock
