In a recent paper in Health Economics, Stevens, McCabe and Brazier (Health Econ. 2006; <B>15</B>: 527-533.) found that the cubic relationship between Visual Analog Scale (VAS) values and standard gamble (SG) utilities was superior to other functional forms in terms of explanatory power and predictive...</b>

Setting risk-adjusted capitation rates in health systems with centralized financing and decentralized delivery is one of the most intriguing policy issues. The common practice to set capitation group rates is based on individual data collected from either population surveys or medical records,...

Objective: To investigate heterogeneity (systematic and observable variation) in health or health-related quality-of-life reports across population groups, for a given level of `true health'. Design: The investigators undertook full sit-down face-to-face interviews with 1999 individuals...

Uncertainty in the decision-making process for reimbursement of health technologies could be reduced if additional information were available. Although methods to evaluate the monetary value of the uncertainty have been previously described, an economic evaluation of alternative methods to...

This paper uses medical care costs of joiners in their first year and of leavers in their last year prior the move, relative to the age–sex groups’ means, to examine the mechanisms behind the switching decisions. Since under the Israeli National Health Insurance Scheme no premiums are paid...

Public opinion has become one of the primary inputs in setting priorities, rationing and allocating health resources. The present study focuses on the priorities of the Israeli public aged 45-75 in allocating scarce medical resources between prolonging survival (the 'Rule of Rescue') and...

Many Western nations are implementing (or considering) changes in their health care systems. An integral component of these changes (or debates) refers to the functioning and regulation of the supplementary health insurance market. However, only limited empirical evidence exists on the...

True health state is an unobservable concept. Researchers and practitioners now have access to a large variety of tools to measure the health state and health related quality of life by self-reports. Socio-demographic variation in these measures is usually interpreted as variation in health....