The social value of health programmes: is age a relevant factor?
In cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) it is usually assumed that a quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) is of equal value to everybody, irrespective of the patient's age. However, it is possible that society assigns different social values to a QALY, according to who gets it. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of weighting health benefits for age in CEA. We also examine the possibility that age-related preferences depend on the size of the health gain. An experiment was performed to test these hypotheses. The assessment of results suggests that the patient's age is a relevant factor when assessing health gains.
Rodríguez
E
E
Department of Applied Economics, University of Vigo, Galicia, Spain. emiguez@uvigo.es
Pinto
J L
JL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D012945:Social Values; D012946:Social Welfare; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D026712:Value of Life