Is it worth saving your life? On the inclusion of costs of added life years in health economic analyses

Abstract

Aim of the study: The aim of this thesis is to, from a theoretical and empirical point of view, critically analyze the Swedish recommendations used by the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency, when it comes to the use of costs of added life years in economic evaluations of health care. Introduction: One much-debated subject is the cost of added life years. Costs of added life years refer to the consumption subtracted by the production during the extra years that an individual lives due to a lifesaving intervention or drug. Discussion: If following a societal perspective in health economic evaluations all costs and benefits should be included, together with costs of added life years. Thereafter, the additional principles should be implemented in the decision together with ethical viewpoints. Conclusions: Many theoretical arguments exist for the inclusion of costs of added life years if following a societal perspective. The current estimates for these costs need to be updated and re-estimated. The labor market structure and consumption of pharmaceuticals has changed since the numbers were calculated and uncertainty should be taken into account.