For equity, preferences used in cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) should yield similar values for different groups with similar health states. We used data from the US 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, including socio-demographics, EQ-5D Index and EQ Visual Analog Scale (EQ VAS) scores, to examine whether EQ-5D Index (representing community preferences) and EQ VAS (representing personal preferences) scores differed systematically by socio-demographic group. Differences between EQ-5D Index and EQ VAS scores by socio-demographic group were small and mostly not statistically significant. These preliminary findings suggest that using the EQ-5D Index in CEAs may not contribute to socio-demographic inequities.
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