On October 10th, 2016, HealthDay News released an article that discussed the economic costs of opioid abuse in the United States. According to a study published in Medical Care, abuse of opioids costs the US economy $78.5 billion dollars every year due to direct health care costs, lost productivity, and costs to the crimiinal justice system. Researchers at the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control found that health care account for approximately 30% of the costs associated with opioid abuse in 2013. Although the opioid epidemic has several non-financial effects on communities and the lives of individuals, the financial costs help increase the understanding of the epidemic as a whole. The release of this information is intended to inform the public of the variety of costs that this epidemic has on our economy and community.