21-05-2025
The opioid crisis' economic impact in Michigan
Opioid misuse is as much an economic problem as a public health one, according to a comprehensive analysis provided first to Axios that shows Michigan spends an average of more than $700,000 annually 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.
Context: 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, costing the nation an estimated $4 trillion last year, per health care consulting firm Avalere Health.
The cumulative economic burden on patients, including years of life lost and reduced quality of life, exceeded $3 trillion in 2024, Avalere estimated.
Zoom in: Michigan borders the states with the highest share of opioid misuse cases.
At $742,799, our average cost per case is slightly higher than the national average, per the analysis from Avalere, which used 2017 figures to project 2024 net costs.
Zoom out: Private businesses absorbed more than $467 billion in costs from lost productivity and health insurance costs, while the federal government bore about $118 billion in Medicare and other federal insurance costs, lost taxes and criminal justice expenses.
It cost state and local governments more than $94 billion, with about $42 billion of that going toward criminal justice costs.
What they're saying: Reports such as Avalere's help local officials across the state better understand the opioid crisis and how to address it with the state's $1.6 billion in opioid settlement funds, Joyce Fetrow, project director of the Northern Michigan Opioid Response Consortium, tells Axios.
Every dollar spent on recovery provides a 10% return, Fetrow says. Investment in recovery services leads more people to spend on housing, transportation and other needs instead of their addiction.
Follow the money: The projected cost of opioid use disorder in 2024 ranged from $419,527 per case in Idaho to more than $2.4 million in D.C.
