The Rehab Scandal: Why a 90% Failure Rate is Considered “Normal”

Imagine a cancer clinic delivering devastating news: “We have a 90% failure rate. Nine out of ten patients will see their cancer return within a year.” The public outcry would be immediate. The facility would be shuttered, and lawsuits would pile up.

Yet, in the world of addiction treatment, this very scenario is the unspoken norm. Families willingly—often desperately—scrape together $30,000, $50,000, even $100,000, sometimes re-mortgaging their homes, for rehab programs that, by their own fuzzy metrics, help fewer than one in ten people achieve lasting sobriety.

Why do we, as a society, accept a standard of care in addiction recovery that would be considered catastrophic malpractice in any other medical field? The answer reveals a troubling story about loopholes, misleading statistics, and our collective willingness to settle for false hope.

The “Chronic Disease” Loophole

It’s true what they say: addiction is a chronic brain disease. Its relapse rates (40-60% within the first year) are often compared to those of other chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes.

But here’s where the comparison becomes a weaponized marketing tool. Rehabs will say, “Relapse is part of recovery!” implying that failure is inevitable and excusable. Yet, there’s a critical difference.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

This verse offers rest and grace, not a cycle of failure and financial ruin. A diabetic isn’t discharged from their doctor’s care for eating a piece of cake. A heart patient isn’t labeled “non-compliant” and abandoned for needing a new stent. But in many rehabs, a single failed drug test can get a person kicked out, their “failure” then used to pad the statistics of a system that set them up to fail. The “chronic disease” label has become a convenient excuse for ineffective treatment, not a call for compassionate, long-term support.

The Shell Game of “Success”

What does “success” even mean in rehab? Ask ten different facilities, and you’ll get ten different answers. Is it total, lifelong abstinence? Is it merely reduced use? Is it just completing the 30-day program?

This ambiguity is not an accident; it’s a strategic fog. When you can move the goalposts, you can always claim a win.

Take Alcoholics Anonymous, for example. Its literature suggests a promising success rate for those who fully engage. However, this figure quietly ignores the vast majority who walk in the door once and never return—the court-mandated attendees, the overwhelmed newcomers, the those who relapse and disappear. Independent studies that track everyone often find the long-term success rate is a meager 5-10%, roughly the same as quitting without any help at all.

We tolerate this confusion because clarity would force a painful reckoning. It would force us to question a multi-billion dollar industry built on statistical manipulation and our own desperate hope.

A Call for Honesty and New Solutions

This isn’t to say that rehabs and 12-step programs don’t help anyone. They are lifelines for a fortunate few. But accepting a 90% failure rate as “the cost of doing business” is a betrayal of the millions who suffer.

It’s why the message of Grateful Truce is so vital. It’s about offering a truce—a realistic, grace-filled approach that doesn’t promise perfection but offers a practical path to management and peace. It’s about acknowledging that if the current system is failing 90% of people, we need to start having honest conversations about alternatives.

We must demand better. We must demand transparency, long-term support, and treatments that offer more than just a revolving door.

Enjoy the following video on the topic

What has been your experience with the rehab system? Do you think the 10% success rate is accurate? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Chris Mosser
Author of Grateful Truce & The AGI Dilemma