journal articles
AMERICAN\'S OVERALL AND EQUITY-BASED SOCIETAL VALUATION OF A DISEASE-MODIFYING ALZHEIMER\'S TREATMENT: RESULTS FROM A DISCRETE CHOICE EXPERIMENT
Francisco Perez-Arce, Jeremy Burke, Lila Rabinovich, Quanwu Zhang, Amir Abbas Tahami Monfared, Soeren Mattke
OBJECTIVES: To estimate Americans’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for universal access to a disease-modifying Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment with a discrete choice experiment in a nationally representative sample. As part of this experiment, we examined whether providing information about the higher disease burden among minorities and persons of lower socioeconomic status (SES) changes WTP.
METHODS: We conducted an information experiment using the nationally representative Understanding America Study (UAS) panel. Participants were provided with general information about AD and a hypothetical treatment that reduces disease progression by 30 %. Two-thirds of the sample were randomized to receive additional information about the higher prevalence of Alzheimer's among either lower SES groups or racial/ethnic minorities. We measured participants' WTP for making the treatment nationally available as a fixed annual fee and income-proportionate fee. Differences in WTP between those exposed to the additional information and those who were not provide the societal valuation of the equity-enhancing effects of the AD treatment.
RESULTS: Average valuations were $252, $260 and $247 per year, and 0.59 %, 0.59 % and 0.61 % of earned income, for the control, race/ethnicity and SES frames, respectively—all statistically indistinguishable. These average results imply that Americans would be willing to pay $33.7 billion based on the fixed fee and $51.4 billion based on the income-related charge for universal access to an AD treatment annually, but their valuation does not further increase when informed about equity considerations.
CONCLUSIONS: While Americans value universal access to an AD treatment highly, health equity considerations did not significantly alter respondents’ WTP.
CITATION:
Francisco Perez-Arce ; Jeremy Burke ; Lila Rabinovich ; Quanwu Zhang ; Amir Abbas Tahami Monfared ; Soeren Mattke (2025): American's overall and equity-based societal valuation of a disease-modifying Alzheimer's treatment: Results from a discrete choice experiment. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease (JPAD). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2024.100036