Willingness to pay for a quality-adjusted life year for depressive disorders compared to heart disease based on population preferences

PURPOSE: According to estimations of the World Health Organization, depressive disorders, and cardiovascular disease will be the leading causes for global burden of disease in 2030. The aim of the present study was to estimate the value a representative sample of the German population places on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for depressive disorders compared to heart disease. METHODS: A representative sample of N = 967 of the German general public was randomly presented with one of two hypothetical health-loss scenarios: One version of the questionnaire presented respondents with health loss due to depression, while the other version dealt with health loss due to experiencing a heart disease. Respondents were asked to indicate their willingness to pay (WTP) for four hypothetical health-gain scenarios with different treatment options. RESULTS: In the depression questionnaire median WTP values ranged from 1000 to 1500 EUR; in the heart disease questionnaire from 1000 to 2000 EUR. Results of the Mann–Whitney U-Test and Median Test indicate higher WTP values for heart disease compared to depressive disorders when QALY gains were minor and stretched over a long period of time, and when treatment with bypass operation (rather than treatment with ECT) was offered. Zero WTP was significantly higher in all scenarios of the depression questionnaire in comparison to the hearth disease questionnaire. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that respondents valued the necessity of paying for treatment higher when presented with heart disease compared to depression. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11136-021-02772-x.