Appraising the use of contingent valuation: a note in response

Abstract

This paper reviews the guidelines and recommendations propounded by Morrison and Gyldmark in relation to the use of contingent valuation (CV) to value health states. The issues raised are: that QALYs may not be sufficiently sensitive to changes in health thus requiring the use of CV formulation; the questionable practice of reinterpreting monetary values; and the possibility of income bias. It is concluded that further empirical research, at least, is needed to verify whether this approach should be rejected in favour of quality adjusted life years (QALYs) or healthy year equivalents (HYEs).