Societal Costs of Prescription Opioid Abuse, Dependence, and Misuse in the United States

TLDR

The rising prevalence of prescription opioid abuse indicates an increasing future societal burden. This study aimed to estimate the societal costs of prescription opioid abuse, dependence, and misuse in the United States, categorizing costs into health care, workplace, and criminal justice. Costs were estimated using a quantity method that multiplies patient numbers by per‑patient costs and an apportionment method that allocates overall drug‑abuse costs based on prescription‑opioid prevalence, drawing on claims data and secondary surveys. Total societal costs were $55.7 billion in 2007, with workplace costs at $25.6 billion (46%), health‑care costs at $25.0 billion (45%), and criminal‑justice costs at $5.1 billion (9%), underscoring a substantial and growing economic burden.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to estimate the societal costs of prescription opioid abuse, dependence, and misuse in the United States.Costs were grouped into three categories: health care, workplace, and criminal justice. Costs were estimated by 1) quantity method, which multiplies the number of opioid abuse patients by cost per opioid abuse patient; and 2) apportionment method, which begins with overall costs of drug abuse per component and apportions the share associated with prescription opioid abuse based on relative prevalence of prescription opioid to overall drug abuse. Excess health care costs per patient were based on claims data analysis of privately insured and Medicaid beneficiaries. Other data/information were derived from publicly available survey and other secondary sources.Total US societal costs of prescription opioid abuse were estimated at $55.7 billion in 2007 (USD in 2009). Workplace costs accounted for $25.6 billion (46%), health care costs accounted for $25.0 billion (45%), and criminal justice costs accounted for $5.1 billion (9%). Workplace costs were driven by lost earnings from premature death ($11.2 billion) and reduced compensation/lost employment ($7.9 billion). Health care costs consisted primarily of excess medical and prescription costs ($23.7 billion). Criminal justice costs were largely comprised of correctional facility ($2.3 billion) and police costs ($1.5 billion). The costs of prescription opioid abuse represent a substantial and growing economic burden for the society. The increasing prevalence of abuse suggests an even greater societal burden in the future.