Saturday, December 10, 2011 - Page updated at 05:45 p.m.

High cost of methadone-related hospitalizations

Low-income patients, including Medicaid recipients, account for more than half of all hospitalizations involving methadone overdoses. Health experts predict Washington's new pain-drug law will result in even more hospitalizations, as doctors turn away patients, who will then flood hospitals once their medical problems reach crisis levels.