Resources Repository
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ReviewPublication 2015Medicare's Use of CEA for Prevention (But Not Treatment)
Medicare currently pays for 23 preventive services in its benefits package, the majority of which …
Medicare currently pays for 23 preventive services in its benefits package, the majority of which were added since 2005. In the past decade, the program has transformed from one essentially administering treatment claims, to one increasingly focused on health promotion and maintenance. What is largely unappreciated is the role cost-effectiveness analysis has played in the coverage of preventive services. This study reviews the role of cost-effectiveness analysis in Medicare coverage of preventive services and contrast it…
Technology Assessment | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Government/Law | Priority Setting/Ethics | Infectious Diseases | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2007Decision Analysis: A Personal Account of How It Got Started and Evolved
In this chapter, Howard Raiffa discusses the evolution of decision analysis and his personal involvement …
In this chapter, Howard Raiffa discusses the evolution of decision analysis and his personal involvement in its development. He describes the early days of Operations Research (OR) in the late 1940s with its approach to complex, strategic decision making. After reading John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern’s Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (1947) and Abraham Wald’s two books (1947, 1950), he became involved in statistical decision theory. A few years later, after reading Leonard…
Decision Theory | Decision Analysis | Business/Industry | Probability/Bayes | Preferences/Values | Operations Research | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2024Adopting Electric School Buses in the U.S.: Health & Climate Benefits
This article evaluates the health and climate benefits of replacing diesel school buses with electric …
This article evaluates the health and climate benefits of replacing diesel school buses with electric models in the U.S. Despite the high cost of electric buses, their benefits in reducing mortality and childhood asthma, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, could justify the investment. The study quantifies the benefits of replacing an average diesel bus with an electric bus, estimating $84,200 in total benefits per bus, with $40,400 from climate benefits and $43,800 from health…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Environmental Health | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2021Rational Policymaking during a Pandemic
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and …
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and its global impacts are unprecedented, decisions are taken in a highly uncertain, complex, and rapidly changing environment. In such a context, in which human lives and the economy are at stake, the authors argue that using ideas and constructs from modern decision theory, even informally, will make policymaking a more responsible and transparent process.
Decision Theory | Government/Law | Priority Setting/Ethics | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global -
ReportPublication 2021Valuing COVID-19 Mortality and Morbidity Risks
In this report, the researchers develop an approach for valuing COVID-19 mortality and morbidity risk …
In this report, the researchers develop an approach for valuing COVID-19 mortality and morbidity risk reductions that builds on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Guidelines for Regulatory Impact Analysis. They review the differences between COVID-19 mortality risks and the types of risks that are more commonly studied, and find that the impacts of these differences on the value of mortality risk reductions (the value per statistical life, VSL) are uncertain. They…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Valuing COVID-19 Mortality Risk
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life …
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life (VSL) in the United States (about $10 million) are appropriate for evaluating policies that affect risk of COVID-19. This estimate may be too large, because: (1) VSL estimates marginal values but COVID-19 risks can be non-marginal; (2) VSL is estimated for the average resident, but COVID-19 mortality is concentrated among the elderly; and (3) the pandemic has caused substantial losses…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Global -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID and the Age–VSL Relationship
In this article, the researchers explore the approach used to value COVID-19 mortality risk reductions …
In this article, the researchers explore the approach used to value COVID-19 mortality risk reductions in analyses of lockdowns and other policies. Many rely on a population-average estimate of the value per statistical life (VSL); others adjust VSL for life expectancy at the age of death. The article explores the implications of theory and empirical studies, which suggest that the relationship between age and VSL is uncertain; these uncertainties in turn may affect whether the…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2017Modeled Health Benefits of a SSB Tax across Different Socioeconomic Groups in Australia
This analysis assessed the potential cost-effectiveness, health gains, and financial impacts of a 20% sugar-sweetened …
This analysis assessed the potential cost-effectiveness, health gains, and financial impacts of a 20% sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax for Australia. Australia-specific price elasticities were used to predict decreases in SSB consumption for each socio-economic quintile. Changes in body mass index (BMI) were based on SSB consumption, BMI from the Australian Health Survey, and energy balance equations. Markov cohort models were used to estimate the health-adjusted life years (HALYs) gained, healthcare costs saved, and out-of-pocket costs…
Mathematical Models | Government/Law | State-Transition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | Oceania -
ReportPublication 2018Understanding the Economics of Microbial Threats: Proceedings of a Workshop
This report follows a June 2018, Forum on Microbial Threats that was held at the …
This report follows a June 2018, Forum on Microbial Threats that was held at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This was a 1.5-day public workshop with the goal being an assessment of the current understanding of the interaction of infectious disease threats and economic activity in order to suggest future areas of research. This workshop built on prior work of the Forum and aimed to build more mutual understanding between those in…
Technology Assessment | Business/Industry | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Global Governance | Clinical Care | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global