Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Status Quo
Background
Wancorp Ltd. has a company medical plan for its employees.
Until now, this plan has not included any coverage related to
breast cancer, but Wancorp now wants to address breast cancer
in its 50-year-old female employees.
Four options are being considered:
- Maintain the status quo and provide no coverage at no additional cost
- Offer breast cancer screening from age 50 to 65. This will catch some cancers earlier, and prevent some deaths, at some additional cost
- Offer high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation (HDC-ABMT) to women who develop metastatic breast cancer betewen age 50 and 65. This will prevent some deaths, at some additional cost
- Offer both screening and HDC-ABMT
In order to make the decision, Wancorp has come to you as an
expert in cost-effectiveness. Thinking about the problem, you
realize that you need the following background information to
establish a baseline with which to compare the new options: