The opioid crisis in the United States has cost the economy at least $631 billion in just four years, according to a report released earlier this week by the Society of Actuaries, which analyzed nonmedical opioid use during this time-frame.
Most of the costs were attributable to health care and premature mortality. Nearly one-third of the total estimated economic burden, about $205 billion, was ascribed to health care and the excess spending for those with opioid use disorder, infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome or neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, and for relatives of those with diagnosed opioid use disorder.
