Study- Members of the Public Willing to Share Limited Healthcare Budget with Less Severely Ill Patients, Even When Not Cost-Effective

Published Aug 22, 2018
Lawrenceville, NJ, USA—August 22, 2018—Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR (the professional society for health economics and outcomes research), announced today the publication of study results suggesting that sharing is intrinsically important and that the public would support some funding of services for patients whose health problem is less severe than that of other identified patients, even when their treatment is less cost-effective. The report, Sharing and the Provision of “Cost-Ineffective” Life-Extending Services to Less Severely Ill Patients, was published in the August 2018 issue of Value in Health. In this survey, members of the public were asked to divide a theoretical budget between two patients facing life-threatening illnesses of differing severities. Researchers found that respondents would choose to share the health budget between patients, even those in which the illness was less severe and services were not cost-effective. Such sentiment contradicts traditional cost-utility analysis, which prioritizes health services according to their statistically most cost-efficient use. “A limited number of studies have observed a social preference for allocating some part of a limited budget to services that are effective but not ‘cost-effective’ because of their high cost,” said author Jeff Richardson, Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. “Our results are consistent with those findings. In each case presented, respondents divided budgets between patients irrespective of the accompanying circumstances. Our work suggests that there is a social preference for sharing, and that this may be the result of a common determinant of preferences and behaviors, namely, “reciprocity.”

###

  ABOUT ISPOR ISPOR, the professional society for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), is an international, multistakeholder, nonprofit dedicated to advancing HEOR excellence to improve decision making for health globally. The Society is the leading source for scientific conferences, peer-reviewed and MEDLINE®-indexed publications, good practices guidance, education, collaboration, and tools/resources in the field. Web: www.ispor.org | LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/ISPOR-LIn | Twitter: www.twitter.com/ISPORorg (@ISPORorg) | YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ISPORorg/videos | Facebook: www.facebook.com/ISPORorg | Instagram: www.instagram.com/ISPORorg ABOUT VALUE IN HEALTH Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) is an international, indexed journal that publishes original research and health policy articles that advance the field of health economics and outcomes research to help healthcare leaders make evidence-based decisions. The journal’s 2017 impact factor score is 5.494. Value in Health is ranked 3rd among 94 journals in healthcare sciences and services, 3rd among 79 journals in health policy and services, and 6th among 353 journals in economics. Value in Health is a monthly publication that circulates to more than 10,000 readers around the world. Web: www.ispor.org/publications/journals/value-in-health | Twitter: www.twitter.com/ISPORJournals (@ISPORjournals)  

Related Stories

International Study Confirms Universally Applicable Framework for Defining Digital Health Interventions

Jan 21, 2026

Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, announced today the publication of a comprehensive international study demonstrating that the PICOTS-ComTeC framework serves as an effective universal standard for defining patient-facing digital health interventions. The report, “Towards a Common Ground for Defining Digital Health Interventions, Mapping Digital Health Frameworks to PICOTS-ComTeC: An ISPOR Special Interest Group Report” was published in the January 2026 issue of Value in Health.

New Research Collection Reveals How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Health Economics

Nov 6, 2025

The PhRMA Foundation and ISPOR announced the publication of a special themed section of research papers that explores the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and health economics and outcomes research (HEOR).

ISPOR Announces 2025 Health Economics and Outcomes Research Award Honorees

Oct 20, 2025

ISPOR announced the recipients of its 2025 Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) Scientific and Leadership Awards. ISPOR Scientific Awards are designed to foster and recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in HEOR and its Leadership Awards recognize excellence and outstanding leadership in the field.
Your browser is out-of-date

ISPOR recommends that you update your browser for more security, speed and the best experience on ispor.org. Update my browser now

×