Altarum's Analysis Incorporated Into Virginia Opioid Cost Data Tool
November 11, 2025
The results of Altarum’s analysis of the cost of the opioid epidemic in Virginia have been incorporated into a new website launched on November 3 by the VCU Center on Society and Health. Altarum combined data provided by VCU on opioid overdose fatalities and emergency department visits with information from national datasets and peer reviewed literature to estimate costs incurred in 2023 from lost labor, health care, child services and K-12 education, and criminal justice. Results were broken out by county or independent city. The distribution across sector and location of the $5.2 billion incurred in 2023 provides insights that have become key pillars in showing the impact of opioid addiction in Virginia.