Estimating the monetary value of health and capability well-being applying the well-being valuation approach

Abstract

Background Quality of life measures going beyond health, like the ICECAP-A, are gaining importance in health technology assessment. The assessment of the monetary value of gains in this broader quality of life is needed to use these measurements in a cost-effectiveness framework. Methods We applied the well-being valuation approach to calculate a first monetary value for capability well-being in comparison to health, derived by ICECAP-A and EQ-5D-5L, respectively. Data from an online survey administered in February 2018 to a representative sample of UK citizens aged 18–65 was used (N = 1512). To overcome the endogeneity of income, we applied an instrumental variable regression. Several alternative model specifications were calculated to test the robustness of the results. Results The base case empirical estimate for the implied monetary value of a year in full capability well-being was £66,597. The estimate of the monetary value of a QALY, obtained from the same sample and using the same methodology amounted to £30,786, which compares well to previous estimates from the willingness to pay literature. Throughout the conducted robustness checks, the value of capability well-being was found to be between 1.7 and 2.6 times larger than the value of health. Conclusion While the applied approach is not without limitations, the generated insights, especially concerning the relative magnitude of valuations, may be useful for decision-makers having to decide based on economic evaluations using the ICECAP-A measure or, to a lesser extent, other (capability) well-being outcome measures.

Eliciting a monetary threshold for a year of sufficient capability to inform resource allocation decisions in public health and social care

“…The value of a YFC elicited here is approximately half as large as the value of a year of full capability elicited by Himmler et al (2020), at £66,597. Himmler et al calculated the level of income needed to compensate for a loss of capability well-being.…”

“…A previous study by Himmler et al (2020) estimated a monetary value for a year of full capability (defined by ICECAP-A) for the UK, using a well-being valuation approach, with an estimated value of £66,597. Our study primarily sought to elicit the value of a year of sufficient capability, using a deliberative approach, although a value for a YFC was also elicited.…”

Association of health asset value with subjective well-being, depression, health management strategy and habits in South Korea

“…These approaches can provide evidence-based estimates for short-term and long-term benefits of health investments at the individual, social, and national levels 2,20,21 . However, our findings suggest that more research on theoretical and evaluative issues related to health asset valuations is needed to convince individuals of their necessity for promoting health and tackling health inequalities 1,20,25 .…”

The value of health—Empirical issues when estimating the monetary value of a quality‐adjusted life year based on well‐being data

“…Recently, Himmler et al. ( 2020 ) applied the well‐being valuation approach in a cross‐sectional sample from the UK to estimate v Q , as well as an equivalent value for broader well‐being. They report a base case v Q estimate of £30,786 (approximately €35,000).…”

“…In their study, Huang et al (2018) used data from the HILDA panel survey from Australia and obtained v Q estimates of A $42,000 (€28,000) to A$67,000 (€45,000), which were similar to threshold values applied for funding decisions in Australia. Recently, Himmler et al (2020) applied the well-being valuation approach in a cross-sectional sample from the UK to estimate v Q , as well as an equivalent value for broader well-being. They report a base case v Q estimate of £30,786 (approximately €35,000).…”