JMI and Pioneer Institute co-released a new report, Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY): The Threat to Older Americans, which examines how the QALY methodology to determine drug treatment value threatens to discriminate against older adults by placing a lower value on treatments that would extend the life of or improve quality of life for older patients.
Authored by Pioneer Institute Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences, Dr. William Smith, the report concludes that the QALY methodology, utilized most notably by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), has the potential to deny seniors’ access to high-quality, life-saving treatments.
The report explores how the use of the QALY methodology would specifically affect those receiving palliative care.
- One-Page Handout: Adjusted Life Years (QALY): The Threat to Older Americans (PDF)
- Press Release: New Report: Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) Methodology Discriminates Against Older Americans
- Animated Video: Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY): The Threat to Older Americans
