Hospital costs for treating newborns in opioid withdrawal jumped to $572.7 million

The cost of treatment for infants in US hospitals who had been exposed to opioids rose by more than $250 million over four years, according to a study published Monday. In 2012, total hospital costs to treat neonatal abstinence syndrome were $316 million. By 2016, according to the study published in the Journal of the America Medical Association Pediatrics, that number was up to $572.7 million.