Exclusive: Opioid use disorder costs almost $700K per case

Data: Avalere Health; Map: Axios VisualsOpioid abuse is as much an economic problem as a public health one, according to a comprehensive analysis provided first to Axios that concludes it costs an average of nearly $700,000 to treat each affected person. Why it matters: The cost burden falls unevenly, with states in a belt stretching through Appalachia to New England typically having bigger caseloads and a higher cost per case.Opioid use disorder cost the U.S. an estimated $4 trillion last year, per the analysis from Avalere, which used 2017 figures to project 2024 net costs. "While this is a cost to government, it's also a cost to private businesses, and the huge cost, of course, is to the individuals who have OUD," said Margaret Scott, a principal at Avalere and author of the report.By the numbers: The projected cost of opioid use disorder in 2024 ranged from $419,527 per case in Idaho to more than $2.4 million in D.C. That covers lost productivity, health insurance costs, property lost to crime and other variables. The cost per case totaled more than $1 million in West Virginia, Rhode Island, Ohio and Maryland. Some of the regional variation in costs is from lost tax revenue, which varies by state. The local availability of treatment for opioid use disorder may also drive the cost, Scott said. State of play: Opioid use disorder — defined as frequent opioid use and unsuccessful efforts to quit — is estimated to affect more than 6 million people in the United States. The cumulative economic burden on patients, including years of life lost and reduced quality of life, exceeded $3 trillion in 2024, Avalere estimated. Private businesses absorbed more than $467 billion in costs from lost productivity and health insurance costs while the federal government bore about $118 billion in Medicare and other federal insurance costs, lost taxes and criminal justice expenses. It cost state and local governments more than $94 billion, with about $42 billion of that going toward criminal justice costs. The Trump administration in March released its own analysis that estimated illicit opioids cost the U.S. about $2.7 trillion in 2023.Where it stands: Treatment can defray the costs by more than 40% in some instances, the analysis found. Behavioral therapy alongside long-acting injectable buprenorphine — a treatment that reduces the risk of future overdoses — generated an estimated $295,000 savings per case, the biggest cost-saver of the options Avalere analyzed. Therapy plus methadone and therapy plus buprenorphine administered through mucous membranes like the mouth each save about $271,000. Behavioral therapy alone saves a project $144,000 per case.The treatment savings estimates assume that patients fully adhere to the regimen for a year.Yes, but: Federal data from 2022 showed that only one-quarter of adults who needed medication treatment for OUD actually got it. Less than half of adults who received any OUD care that year got medication treatment. However, buprenorphine distribution increased significantly between 2019 and 2022 as policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed people to start treatment via telehealth. Between the lines: Overdose deaths in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since 2019 last year, partly due to expanded availability of the overdose reversal drug naloxone. An estimated 80,391 people died from drug overdoses in 2024, down nearly 27% from the previous year, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.But some addiction experts say cuts to federal grant funding and other program changes led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could hurt addiction recovery programs.The fine print: Indivior, a pharmaceutical company specializing in treatments for opioid use disorder, funded the Avalere analysis.

Comments

World news

Strikes on Gaza kill at least 60 people, local officials say, as criticism against Israel mounts

washington times

‘You promised you’d take a nap’: Inside Hunter Biden’s confrontation with Joe after watching dad flail during Ireland trip

about 1 hour ago

‘Greatest support system’: Who are Cassie Ventura’s relatives as her mom is set to take stand in Diddy trial

Independent

Jon Stewart lashes CNN for hawking anchor’s Biden book: ‘F***ing weird ... Don’t news people have to tell you what they know?’

about 3 hours ago

Airbnb sued for allegedly not vetting guest who murdered Saudi student in next room

Independent

Comments

Similar News

Sky confirms exact date broadband prices will rise as 'exclusive' deals to end

Exclusive: Audio reveals Biden confusing date of son Beau's death

Exclusive: Biden's reversal on classified document flustered his attorneys

Exclusive: Listen to the full Biden-Hur special counsel interview

Exclusive: Biden-Hur special counsel audio exposes memory lapses

Exclusive: Dems press Trump to divest from stablecoin

Exclusive: Biden aides discussed wheelchair use if he were re-elected, new book says

Top buyers of Trump-sponsored crypto win exclusive dinner with president

Exclusive: Democratic governors blast GOP's "impossible" Medicaid proposal

Exclusive: Democrats target Trump's meme coin, family's crypto empire

Exclusive: Where nursing homes rely most on Medicaid

Exclusive: Christian leaders blast Trump's "anti-Christian bias" unit

Exclusive: Johnson would call Trump before raising alarm on constitutional power

Exclusive: Van Hollen says Trump has "no excuses" for violating Ábrego García's rights

Exclusion zones: is Peter Dutton’s campaign avoiding proposed nuclear power sites?

World news

Strikes on Gaza kill at least 60 people, local officials say, as criticism against Israel mounts

New EU sanctions target Russia's shadow fleet of tankers illicitly transporting oil and gas

How uproar over a Maori haka, beloved in New Zealand life, sowed chaos and gridlock in Parliament

Iran's supreme leader casts doubt on success of U.S. nuclear talks

Rare win for tourism protesters in Spain as prices plummet

Spain frenzy as shark that can grow to 32.8ft spotted near city popular with Brits

Stunning island nation where cost of living is 50.4% lower than London

Cafeteria worker arrested for hiding evidence after her boyfriend kills teen who came to beat up her son, cops say

Palm Springs bombing suspect’s YouTube showed tests of homemade explosives, report says

Trump crudely tells Kennedy Center crowd of political foes: ‘I’ll shove it up their a**!’

The last words and final meal of man executed over killing of an Indiana police officer

How does Airbnb know you’re having a party? Screening tech and policies explained ahead of Memorial Day

‘This government was illegally run’: Trump continues fixation on Biden’s autopen and says he will investigate

Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaiian woman who vanished from LAX, breaks her silence

‘You promised you’d take a nap’: Inside Hunter Biden’s confrontation with Joe after watching dad flail during Ireland trip

‘Greatest support system’: Who are Cassie Ventura’s relatives as her mom is set to take stand in Diddy trial

Walmart responds after Trump says retail chain should absorb his tariff cost

3 coal mine workers killed in China after water rushes in

In verdant vineyard, the cost of October 7 horrors for both Israel and Hamas are laid bare

Para-cyclist killed by Israeli airstrike, team says

Diddy trial: Rapper threatened to kill me, singer Dawn Richard testifies

Mississauga man acquitted in double fatal boat crash on Lake Ontario

Regina Humane Society seeing consistent high number of dogs

Best natural deodorants to keep you feeling fresh

Canada Post strike: Here is what will still be delivered in a work stoppage

Airbnb pledges to fight back as Spanish hotspot launches crackdown

Jon Stewart lashes CNN for hawking anchor’s Biden book: ‘F***ing weird ... Don’t news people have to tell you what they know?’

Airbnb sued for allegedly not vetting guest who murdered Saudi student in next room

‘Like watching Grandpa who shouldn’t be driving’: Biden’s health worried aides back in 2020 campaign, book says

Vegas cops shoot dead gym member whose gun malfunctioned as he tried to carry out a mass killing

Gaza latest: UN makes desperate plea to Israel over allowing in aid to prevent thousands more deaths

U.K. suspends free trade talks with Israel and announces sanctions over West Bank settlers

Meet the creationist theme park owner with a replica Noah’s Ark

Biden’s White House chief of staff made all the ‘big decisions,’ was nicknamed ‘Prime Minister’: book

With little progress after phone calls and talks, Ukraine's allies hit Russia with new sanctions

Gaza before and after: Google Earth updates its images which reveals devastation

Mexico mourns naval cadet killed when training ship collided with Brooklyn Bridge

How uproar over Māori haka, beloved in New Zealand life, sowed chaos in Parliament

UK court sentences Egyptian man to 25 years for smuggling people from Africa to Italy

Reward to find fugitive accused of murdering wife whose body was found in car boot

World junior trial resumes by judge alone, former teammate under questioning

Russia’s crucial £32bn Arctic projects that China ‘wants in on’

Israel is letting a trickle of aid into Gaza for the first time in 2 1/2 months. Here's what to know

Abandoning trans people ‘a mistake’ for Democrats, says Tim Walz

War hero forced to hide during Jan 6 chaos condemns $5 million payout to rioter’s family

Australia’s main opposition political coalition splits after election loss

How controversy over Maori haka sparked chaos in New Zealand parliament

Vatican peace talks and a threatened ‘red line’ - what comes after the Trump-Putin phone call?

Moment cat caught smuggling Class A drugs into Costa Rican prison

German police arrest a suspect in the attack that injured 5 people outside a bar

A second man is charged over fires at properties linked to UK Prime Minister Starmer

Iran’s supreme leader rejects US stance on uranium enrichment

A British man on trial in Bali for a drug offense pleads for a lenient sentence

Canada Post strike: What happens to the parcels already accepted?

British man with same name as Russian rebel keeps getting mistaken on holiday

Fresh UK sanctions on Russia announced - as Putin procrastinates on ceasefire talks

El inesperado programa que salva a los jaguares de la extinción

The unlikely program saving jaguars from extinction

The tech billionaires are missing the point of their favorite sci-fi series

Canada’s April inflation data set to show impact of carbon price removal