The White House says the true cost of the opioid drug epidemic in 2015 was $504 billion, or roughly half a trillion dollars.
In an analysis to be released Monday, the Council of Economic Advisers says the figure is more than six times larger than the most recent estimate. The council said a 2016 private study estimated that prescription opioid overdoes, abuse and dependence in the U.S. in 2013 cost $78.5 billion. Most of that was attributed to health care and criminal justice spending, along with lost productivity.
The council said its estimate is significantly larger because the epidemic has worsened, with overdose deaths doubling in the past decade, and that some previous studies didn’t reflect the number of fatalities blamed on opioids, a powerful but addictive category of painkillers.
The council also said previous studies focused exclusively on prescription opioids, while its study also factors in illicit opioids, including heroin.
“Previous estimates of the economic cost of the opioid crisis greatly underestimate it by undervaluing the most important component of the loss — fatalities resulting from overdoses,” said the report, which the White House released Sunday night.
Last month at the White House, President Donald Trump declared opioid abuse a national public health emergency. Trump announced an advertising campaign to combat what he said is the worst drug crisis in the nation’s history, but he did not direct any new federal funding toward the effort.
Trump’s declaration stopped short of the emergency declaration that had been sought by a federal commission the president created to study the problem. An interim report by the commission argued for an emergency declaration, saying it would free additional money and resources.
But in its final report earlier this month, the panel called only for more drug courts, more training for doctors and penalties for insurers that dodge covering addiction treatment. It did not call for new money to address the epidemic.
More than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, most involving a prescription painkiller or an illicit opioid like heroin.
(AP)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Drug treatment is a potentially huge expense, and for financial reasons is limited, and over-regulated. There are varying levels of intensity of treatment, and there are existing criteria, based on evidence based practice, that facilitate making referrals to the most appropriate treatment level. However, the insurance companies are guilty for insisting that lower levels be tried first, and only upon failure will more intensive treatment programs be approved. This is criminal, and the fallout of overdoses and other serious consequences (and costs) skyrocket. And this is done in the name of greater efficiency.
One of the greatest challenges for a newly recovering addict is dealing with the greatly modified environment that must be in place. If someone gets discharged from the best rehab, and returns to the environment that was formerly conducive to using drugs, the result is predictable, and often tragic. Yet, no one wants to make these detailed plans for the discharged patient, and insurance denies coverage for followup therapy. Left to flounder, the incidence of relapse is great, and it is not the failure of the treatment program, but the denial of coverage for long term treatment.
The opioid epidemic will cost money. But if that money is allocated properly, there can be positive outcomes. Here are some suggestions:
* All drug dealers should have mandatory death penalty or at least life without parole.
* No insurance company may limit treatment dollars for addictions.
* Rehabs must create detailed aftercare plans, including support groups, sponsor, aftercare therapy, etc.
* All admissions to treatment should include access to authorities to obtain information about the source of the drugs used. Dealers should be rounded up, and prescribing doctors should be arrested and tried.
I feel terrible for heroin users. They can obtain their opioids rather easily from a great many physicians and dentists, and the pharmaceutical quality is guaranteed. I say this with tongue in cheek, though it is true. I would love to see these prescribers jailed and removed from their dangerous positions in which they can practice and distribute drugs. Yes, this includes some Jewish doctors, and it occurs in the finest of neighborhoods.