The value of disease prevention vs treatment.
We present an integrated valuation model for diseases that are life-threatening. The model extends the standard one-period value-per-statistical-life model to three health prospects: healthy, ill, and dead. We derive willingness-to-pay values for prevention efforts that reduce a disease's incidence rate as well as for treatments that lower the corresponding health deterioration and mortality rates. We find that the demand value of prevention always exceeds that of treatment. People often overweight small risks and underweight large ones. We use the rank dependent utility framework to explore how the demand for prevention and treatment alters when people evaluate probabilities in a non-linear manner. For incidence and mortality rates associated with common types of cancers, the inverse-S shaped probability weighting found in experimental studies leads to a significant increase in the demand values of both treatment and prevention.
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), Finland. Electronic address: rheinberger.cm@gmail.com.
Christoph M
CM
Rheinberger
Paris School of Economics (Hospinnomics), France; Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, France.
Daniel
D
Herrera-Araujo
Harvard University (Center for Risk Analysis), USA; Toulouse School of Economics, France.
James K
JK
Hammitt
D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000191:economics*; D012306:Risk; D013812:Therapeutics / Q000191:economics
Chronic disease; Health risk valuation; Probability weighting; Value of prevention; Willingness-to-pay