Exclusive: Opioid crisis cost Georgia $81 billion last year
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Opioid abuse is as much an economic problem as a public health one, according to a comprehensive analysis provided first to Axios that shows Georgia spends more than $730,000 on each such case.
Why it matters: The cost burden falls unevenly across the country, with states in a belt stretching through Appalachia to New England typically having bigger caseloads and a higher cost per case.
Context: 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, costing the nation an estimated $4 trillion last year, per health care consulting firm Avalere Health.
- The cumulative economic burden on patients, including years of life lost and reduced quality of life, exceeded $3 trillion in 2024, Avalere estimated.
Context: At $736,361, Georgia's average cost per case is slightly higher than the national average, per the analysis from Avalere, which used 2017 figures to project 2024 net costs.
Zoom out: In Georgia, patients bore more than $62.1 billion in costs from reduced quality of life and statistical loss of life.
- Businesses absorbed more than $9.6 billion in costs from lost productivity and health insurance costs.
- It cost the federal government about $2.3 billion in Medicare and other federal insurance costs, lost taxes and criminal justice expenses.
State of play: Georgia received $636 million in a settlement with major U.S. opioid distributors and a manufacturer.
- A state task force plans to spend that funding on medication-assisted treatment, detox beds, education to reduce stigma and naloxone kits for law enforcement.