The economic impact to Indiana from opioid misuse is more than $4 billion annually, or about $11 million a day, according to a study published by a Columbus professor and an Indiana University student.
In Hancock County, the total cost over the 15-year study period — from 2003 to 2017 — was $500 million, the study said. Last year, the local cost was $53.9 million alone, they said.
Ryan Brewer, associate professor of finance at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, and Kayla Freeman, a doctoral candidate in finance at the IU Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, studied the impact of the opioid crisis on state and local economies, the labor market and health care. Their study also includes recommendations for actions by state officials.