22 March 2018 - Affordability, or rather a lack of it, has become a new buzzword in health policy. It is raised by payers as a “heat shield” as they seek to protect themselves from the impact of expensive new drugs and medical technologies. 

Manufacturers, in contrast, argue that if something is a good value, compared with currently available treatments, then money should be found to pay for it. Mainstream economists see it as “Economics 101” that affordability cannot be separated from the willingness to pay for and/or the opportunity cost of providing a new intervention. 

Whether we can “afford” something depends not only on the cost, but on our income, wealth, borrowing capacity, and the alternative goods and services we want to spend our money on today and over time. If we really want something, we will try to find a way to make it “affordable” by adjusting spending priorities.

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