Opioid crisis cost nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020
The economic toll of the opioid addiction and overdose crisis in the U.S. reached nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020, according to a report from Congress’s Joint Economic Committee. The report, which adapted a method used by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists and adjusted for inflation, found that the crisis cost the U.S. economy $1.47 trillion in 2020, a $487 billion increase from 2019 and a 37% increase from 2017, when the CDC last measured the cost.
Opioid addiction and overdose are now the leading causes of death in the U.S. In 2020, opioid overdoses killed more than 50,000 Americans, more than twice as many as died from HIV/Aids at the height of the pandemic in 1995.
To address the opioid crisis, Congress has enacted a series of legislated measures to expand access to mental health services, increase funding for treatment programs, and reduce drug trafficking and abuse. However, much work remains to be done to address this epidemic.
Source: Opioid crisis cost U.S. nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020 -Congressional report