Opioid Epidemic Took $95 Billion from Economy in 2016

The opioid epidemic is spiraling out of control on all fronts. As if the human cost wasn't enough, the financial cost of this epidemic cost the economy $95 billion in 2016 according to a new analysis from Altarum.

Benefits Pro writer, Marlene Satter writes, "The costs, according to the analysis, break down this way: the vast majority—$43.2 billion—came from losses in the workforce due to deaths from opioids, the analysis found. Another $12.4 billion accounted for lost productivity from surviving opioid addicts. And within the health-care industry, costs from the epidemic were concentrated in emergency room visits, hospital admissions, ambulance use and Naloxone use." 

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