In recognition of National Recovery Month, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, led by Chairman Don Beyer (D-VA), released a new analysis that finds the opioid epidemic cost the United States a record of nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020.
This is up 37 percent from 2017, when the CDC last measured the cost.
After the pandemic disrupted the U.S. health care system, reducing access to substance abuse treatment and exacerbating social and economic stress that can worsen addiction, opioid use increased, according to a news release from the JEC.
