MEASURING HEART-PATIENTS WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR CHANGES IN ANGINA SYMPTOMS

Willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures of the effects of changes in health on a person's welfare are more comprehensive than traditional cost-of- illness (COI) measures, but they are sometimes difficult to obtain. Th e authors investigated two approaches for measuring heart patients' WT P for changes in their angina symptoms. First, actual expenditures and perceived angina episodes avoided were used to infer an averting-beha vior measurement of WTP. Second, a contingent-valuation approach was u sed to ask direct WTP questions regarding a hypothetical medical treat ment that could be purchased to avoid additional angina episodes. The results indicated that although negligible COI changes were expected w ith small changes in angina frequency, the subjects had significant WT P to avoid increases in angina. The average WTP to avoid additional an gina episodes revealed by the averting-behavior questions was comparab le to the directly-elicited WTP, providing a test of the validity of t he contingent-valuation approach.