Pennsylvania hospital admissions of overdose hospitalizations for heroin and pain medications cost public and private insurance programs $27 million last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4).
The report also found admissions for heroin overdoses have surged by 66 percent during the past two years — and have nearly doubled since 2013.
“These new findings continue to stress the devastating impact of drugs on Pennsylvania families, communities and taxpayers, regardless of age, race, gender, income level or where one lives,” said Joe Martin, PHC4’s executive director.
Health experts say people who become addicted to opioid pain medicines will turn to heroin when they can no longer get access to opioids, which are far more expensive to purchase illegally than heroin. An oxycodone tablet can cost more than $70 on the street, while a bag of heroin can sell for $10 or less.
Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, speaking last month at a Independence Blue Cross Foundation event about opioid addiction, called the problem the "number one public safety challenge in Pennsylvania, bar none."
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