This paper performs new tests of the QALY model when health varies over time. Our tests do not involve confounding assumptions and are robust to violations of expected utility. The results support the use of QALYs at the aggregate level, i.e. in economic evaluations of health care. At the...

Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) models are widely used for economic evaluation in the health care sector. In the first part of the paper, we establish an overview of QALY models where health varies over time and provide a theoretical analysis of model identification and parameter estimation...

Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) estimate the utility derived from health states by taking account of life expectancy and quality of life. In applying QALYs to situations where health varies over time, it is usual to assume that we can add the utilities from constituent health states. This...