What's it worth? Public willingness to pay to avoid mental illnesses compared with general medical illnesses

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Thu, April 05, 2012

CBSSM co-director Scott Kim and CBSSM alumni Dylan Smith (Stony Brook University), Laura Damschroder (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center), and Peter Ubel (Duke University) co-authored a new study that reveals that the public is less willing to pay to avoid mental illness compared to paying for treatment of medical conditions. The study, led by Dylan Smith, PhD, also found that participants recognized mental illnesses as burdensome, yet were willing to pay 40% less than what they would pay to avoid medical illnesses.  The results are published in the April issue of Psychiatric Services.