Is technological change in medicine worth it?

Medical technology is valuable if the benefits of medical advances exceed t he costs. We analyze technological change in five conditions to determine i f this is so. In four of the conditions-heart attacks, low-birthweight infa nts, depression, and cataracts-the estimated benefit of technological chang e is much greater than the cost. In the fifth condition, breast cancer, cos ts and benefits are about of equal magnitude. We conclude that medical spen ding as a whole is worth the increased cost of care. This has many implicat ions for public policy.