Opioid Epidemic Costs WV $8.8 Billion Annually, Study Says
Eric Eyre | Charelston Gazette-Media
“The study takes into account what states are spending on health care and substance abuse treatment, criminal justice costs and lost worker productivity, as well as the societal burden of fatal overdoses.
‘What’s, unfortunately, unique in West Virginia, it’s not so much the rates of addiction, it’s the rates of death,’ said Alex Brill, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ‘What’s most concerning is the high rate of opioid-related deaths.’
According to the study, West Virginia’s economic burden from the opioid crisis comes out to $4,793 per resident.”