Decisions on interventions or policy alternatives affecting health can be informed by economic evaluations, like cost-benefit or cost-utility analyses. In this context, there is a need for valid estimates of the monetary equivalent value of health (gains), which are often expressed in € per quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Obtaining such estimates remains methodologically challenging, with a recent addition to the health economists' toolbox, which is based on well-being data: The well-being valuation approach. Using general population panel data from Germany, we put this approach to the test by investigating several empirical and conceptual challenges, such as the appropriate functional specification of income utility, the choice of health utility tariffs, or the health state dependence of consumption utility. Depending on specification, the bulk of estimated € per QALY values ranged from €20,000–60,000, with certain specifications leading to more considerable deviations, underlining persistent practical challenges when applying the well-being valuation methodology to health and QALYs. Based on our findings, we formulate recommendations for future research and applications.

中文翻译：

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健康的价值——基于幸福数据估计质量调整生命年的货币价值时的实证问题

可以通过经济评估（如成本效益或成本效用分析）来决定影响健康的干预措施或政策替代方案。在这种情况下，需要对健康（收益）的货币等价价值进行有效估计，通常以每质量调整生命年 (QALYs) 的欧元表示。获得这样的估计在方法上仍然具有挑战性，最近在健康经济学家的工具箱中增加了一个基于福祉数据的工具：福祉估值方法。使用来自德国的一般人口面板数据，我们通过调查一些经验和概念挑战来测试这种方法，例如收入效用的适当功能规范、健康效用关税的选择或消费效用的健康状态依赖性。根据规格，每个 QALY 的估计欧元值大部分在 20,000-60,000 欧元之间，某些规格会导致更大的偏差，这突显了将福祉评估方法应用于健康和 QALY 时持续存在的实际挑战。根据我们的发现，我们为未来的研究和应用制定了建议。