What opioid use disorder costs Indiana
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Opioid abuse is as much an economic problem as a public health crisis, according to a comprehensive analysis provided first to Axios that shows Indiana spends more than $670,000 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.
- 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.
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 Washington, D.C. That covers lost productivity, health insurance costs, property lost to crime and other variables.
- At $670,763, Indiana's average cost per case is slightly lower than the national average of $694,664.
What they're saying: "While this is a cost to governments, 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.
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.
Reality check: Treatment can defray costs by more than 40% in some instances, the analysis found.
Between the lines: Overdose deaths in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since 2019 last year, partly due to the expanded availability of the overdose reversal drug naloxone.
- In Indiana, the fatal drug overdose rate dropped to 34.2 per 100,000 people in 2023, down from 41 in 2022, per CDC data.
- That's a drop of nearly 17%, the sixth-largest decrease nationwide.
Zoom in: Indiana is set to receive more than $980 million over an 18-year period as the result of multiple opioid settlements with pharmaceutical companies, distributors and firms accused of fueling the crisis.
- Last week, it was announced that Indiana will get up to $100 million as part of a national $7.4 billion settlement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma for their role in the epidemic.
The intrigue: Indiana artists and entrepreneurs are also supporting the anti-opioid fight.
- Last fall, seven local artists debuted work from "Recovery Starts With Us," a multimedia campaign created to reduce the stigma around opioid addiction.
- IU student and tech entrepreneur Isaiah "Izzy" Branam is developing Relate XR, a company he co-founded with IU assistant professor Brandon Oberlin and digital arts graduate Andrew Nelson to combine psychology with virtual reality to treat substance abuse.
- This weekend, Summit Performance Indianapolis will present "THIS IS DIFFERENT" at Phoenix Theater, a free evening of theater focused on sharing the stories of Hoosiers who have struggled with opioids and substance use disorder.