CDC data shows overdose deaths from opioids increased to an estimated 75,673 deaths in the 12-month period ending April 2021, compared to 56,064 deaths during the same period in 2020, an increase of 28.5 percent.
Here are six things to know about the cost of the opioid crisis:
1. Opioid overdose, misuse and dependence account for $35 billion in healthcare costs, $14.8 billion in criminal justice costs and $92 billion in lost productivity, an August 2021 Pew Charitable Trusts report showed.
2. An improvement in access to evidence-based treatments could save $25,000-$105,000 in lifetime costs per person, the same report showed.
3. $1.94 billion in annual hospital costs are from patients who experience an opioid overdose, according to Pew Charitable Trusts.
4. According to an April 2021 CDC report, the three states with the highest per capita cost of opioid use disorder and fatal opioid overdose are West Virginia ($7,247), Ohio ($6,226) and New Hampshire ($5,953).
5. The three states with the lowest per capita cost of opioid use disorder and fatal opioid overdose are Hawaii ($1,204), Minnesota ($1,509) and California ($1,566), according to the CDC.
6. In 2013, the overall economic burden of the opioid crisis was $78.5 billion in the U.S. This includes the healthcare system, productivity losses and the criminal justice system, a May 2021 study by the Journal of the American Pharmacies Association found. Comparatively, this number was $3.5 billion in Canada in 2014.