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Economic Burden of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

NORC at the University of Chicago · February 2026. Authors: A. F. Kritikos, M. Hefferon, D. Chelluri, M. L. Hughes, and Tandem J. Young. Supported by Arisa Health and Centerstone.

Headline finding: Mental health and substance use disorders impose a $107.3 billion annual economic burden on the U.S.
Breakdown: $59.5B in health care costs + $47.7B in productivity losses from premature mortality.
Heartland region: $11.2B burden across 8 states (AR, IA, KS, MO, NE, ND, OK, SD).
Arkansas impact: $2.33B total burden ($1.05B health care + $1.28B productivity losses).

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