Concerns for severity in priority setting in health care: A review of trade-off data in preference studies and implications for societal willingness to pay for a QALY

In a wide range of health care jurisdictions, to give priority to the severely ill over the less severely ill is important in decisions about resource allocation across patient groups. We summarise data on concerns for severity measured at a cardinal level in preference studies in various countries and show how the data may provide guidance for determining severity graded willingness to pay for a QALY.