The cost of firearm injuries and deaths in the US

Miller et al., researchers at the CDC, used several data sources to estimate the economic burden of fatal and nonfatal firearm injuries in the US in 2019–2020, including shooter intent data from the Firearm Injury Surveillance Study (FISS), available from NACJD. They found that the total cost of firearm-related injuries and deaths in 2020 was $493.2 billion, a 16 percent increase from 2019, with “non-Hispanic Black persons, males, and young and middle-aged adults experiencing the largest increase.” Suicide accounted for about half of the total cost of fatal firearm injuries. According to the authors, the typical valuation methods used to do these types of economic impact estimates focus on the cost burden on hospitals, healthcare systems, and insurers. Miller et al. expanded their analysis to include quality of life estimates. They found that the value of reduced quality of life accounted for a significant portion of the overall costs of firearm injuries, exceeding medical costs and the price of work loss due to hospitalization.