New Study: Opioid Crisis Cost US Economy $631B Over 4 Years

New Study: Opioid Crisis Cost US Economy $631B Over 4 Years
Local Police and paramedics help a man who is overdosing in the Drexel neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 3, 2017. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times
The Associated Press
Updated:

The opioid crisis cost the U.S. economy $631 billion from 2015 through last year—and it may keep getting more expensive, according to a study released on Oct. 15 by the Society of Actuaries.

The biggest driver of the cost over the four-year period is unrealized lifetime earnings of those who died from the drugs, followed by health care costs.