Opioid epidemic cost US more than $500 billion: White House

The opioid epidemic cost the US economy more than $500 billion in 2015, a report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers has revealed. "Previous estimates of the economic cost of the opioid crisis greatly understate it by undervaluing the fatalities resulting from overdoses," it said. President Donald Trump declared opioid abuse a national public health emergency last month.