Hoeveel mag een gewonnen levensjaar kosten?

Conflict of interest: none declared. Financial support: none declared.

• Increasing healthcare costs force policy makers to make difficult choices in the insurance package.

• In order to make rational choices, there must be an understanding of the healthcare costs as well as the value of the health that the care provides.

• Health economists have in recent years carried out extensive research into the value that people attribute to health.

• Health is of great social value, and is difficult to express in concrete monetary terms.

• One extra life-year in good health (‘quality-adjusted life year’, QALY) seems to be valued on average at no less than 50,000 euros by people.

• Methodology needs to be developed in this area so that study results are more uniform and can be better compared. Physicians and policy makers will thus gain more insight into the value of health.