Substance use disorders cost the U.S. economy an estimated $93 billion in lost productivity in 2023—approximately $3,703 per adult with an SUD.
That’s according to new research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study’s authors broke down the total loss of productivity into four categories: inability to work accounted for $45.25 billion, absenteeism cost $25.65 billion, presenteeism cost $12.06 billion, and household productivity loss cost $9.68 billion.
Researchers used a regression-based approach to analyze data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health data, as well as other published literature.
“Substance use disorders can impair cognitive and behavioral functioning, resulting in productivity losses,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said in a statement about the study. “While medical costs and premature deaths associated with substance use disorders have been well documented, the impact of productivity losses on workers, families, and employers due to illness remains less visible and are often underestimated.”
Researchers emphasized that targeted interventions could help reverse this trend.
“Public health strategies addressing the prevalence of SUD and reducing lost productive time have the potential to reduce these losses and offer cost savings for the U.S. economy,” authors of the study noted.
Past research has estimated that the total societal cost of SUDs exceeds $740 billion annually. That estimate includes losses in productivity, health care and crime.
Employers, payers and providers have taken note of the cost. SUDs cost employer-sponsored health plans $35.3 billion, according to a 2023 JAMA study.
While the cost of SUDs is substantial for the U.S. economy, treatment for these conditions could become harder for patients to obtain in the future. Medicaid, which is one of the top payers for SUD treatments, faces substantial cuts under the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will cut Medicaid spending.
