The social value of health programs: Is age a relevant factor?

Eva Rodríguez-Míguez and José Luis Pinto
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Eva Rodríguez Míguez

No 9904, Working Papers from Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Economía Aplicada

Abstract: In cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) it is usually assumed that a 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 results assessing suggest that the patient's age is a relevant factor when assessing health gains.

Keywords: QALY; age weights; Social Welfare Function. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D61 D63 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 1999-04
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The social value of health programs: Is age a relevant factor? (2000)
Working Paper: The social value of health programs: Is age a relevant factor? (2000)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vig:wpaper:9904

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