Critics say the answer pharmaceutical companies are pushing to address the ongoing opioid crisis boosts their profits while forcing taxpayers to shoulder the costs.

Some drugmakers aim to replace ubiquitous painkillers such as Vicodin and Percocet with harder-to-abuse formulations that are patent-protected and command higher prices — a plan that could cost government-funded health programs hundreds of millions of dollars in higher medication expenses.

A pending measure in Illinois, for example, would cost taxpayers $55 million annually to cover the higher-priced drugs for state Medicaid recipients, according to an initial state analysis. A proposal in Ohio was estimated to bring $167 million in higher costs.

And on the federal level, an industry-backed provision benefiting reformulated opioids tucked into a law this summer will cost the federal government $75 million in lost Medicaid payments over 10 years, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.