Abstracts by key term: Welfare economics
Cost-effectiveness analysis and control of the healthcare system
Cost-effectiveness analysis has experienced enormous growth in recent years as an aid to decision-making. Their legal anchoring in the performance audit means that the reliability of the statements must be checked. Political and methodological skepticism is particularly directed against a simple decision based on the monetary costs per QALY of a therapy. The discussion is also growing as to whether subjective assessments of benefits by individuals should take precedence over objective assessments of a group. It is still unclear which controls will ultimately be chosen in the healthcare system. However, both approaches require methodological refinement before they can offer helpful support to health policy.