Opioid illustration (Image: Shutterstock)

The findings of a major new study on the costs of substance use disorder (SUD) haven’t gotten much play, but they are hard to ignore.

An economic evaluation study, carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers and published in the JAMA Open Network, shows that SUDs cost employers and health plans a minimum of $35 billion annually. This doesn’t include the costs of absenteeism, presenteeism, and job retention, nor the significant underreporting and under-treatment of SUDs in the workplace.

 

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