Yearly Price of Opioid Epidemic May Reach $504 Billion

(Spring 2018) The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) issued a report estimating overall costs of the opioid epidemic at $504 billion in 2015. This figure includes the societal cost of an individual’s premature death, which the organization says can be as much as $8.9 million. A separate study conducted by Altarum put a price tag for the opioid epidemic of $95 billion in 2016. The Altarum research incorporated health care costs as well as employer funds lost due to reduced productivity and diminished tax revenue. This figure also includes dollars spent on related public services such as law enforcement and children’s services.

It’s estimated that providing more funding to halt the opioid epidemic will certainly pay off. Putting a stop to opioid addiction could result in savings of over $46 billion for private employers and individuals; more than $29 billion extra in federal coffers; and $13.5 billion in savings for states. Currently, Ohio and West Virginia are among the top five states where residents are bearing the brunt of the expenditures to fight the opioid battle. Including estimates of productivity deficits for citizens who died prematurely due to an opioid overdose, the state of Ohio loses somewhere between $6 billion and $8 billion per year. Since these figures were based on 2015 numbers, the price is probably even higher now due to a 33% increase in Ohio overdose fatalities in 2016.

Meanwhile, local governments could also save almost $6 billion if the opioid epidemic were eliminated. Costs can pile up quickly for municipalities, too. Take Middletown, Ohio, for example. This city, not far from Cincinnati, spends over $1100 per ambulance run for each overdose. From October 2016 to October 2017, Middletown responded to more than 900 overdose runs, which drained more than $1 million from its $30 million yearly budget.

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