Economic Impact

2015 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Study

The U.S. spent nearly $8 billion on criminal justice-related costs due to selling and consuming opioids, which was almost entirely a cost to state and local governments.

Hospitals

One study from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that the average cost of treating an opioid overdose victim in intensive care units jumped 58% between 2009 and 2015.

In 2015, average cost among 162 academic hospitals was $92,400 per patient in intensive care.

The Impact on American Employers