Willingness to Pay for Medical Treatments in Chronic Diseases: A Multicountry Survey of Patients and Physicians

This study surveyed patients and physicians across ten developing countries to understand what shapes how much patients are willing to pay for treatments for chronic heart failure and psoriasis. Income was the single biggest factor for both diseases, while for psoriasis, education level and out-of-pocket costs also played a strong role, showing how a disease’s visible and social impact can shape what patients are willing to spend. Disease-specific factors may affect willingness to pay for treatment that should be accounted for to support effective public health programs in developing countries.

• The study included patients and physicians managing chronic heart failure across eight countries and psoriasis across five countries, comparing what patients said they’d pay against what physicians and an independent financial model estimated was reasonable.
• Patients were consistently willing to pay more than their physicians expected or an affordability model predicted, pointing to a real gap between patient expectations and outside assessments of fair pricing.
• For psoriasis, more educated patients were willing to pay significantly more, suggesting that the social and emotional toll of a visible skin condition drives treatment value in ways that don’t apply to a life-threatening disease like heart failure.
• The findings show that one-size-fits-all pricing doesn’t work: effective access programs need to account for how a disease affects daily life and self-image, not just its clinical severity.
• Information gleaned from surveys similar to those used in this study may provide important insight that can support the development of pricing models that achieve an optimum balance between program sustainability and patient access to quality care.