Patient Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Arthroplasty Surgery in Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Hip

Little is known about the economic value patients place on effective treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of total hip arthroplasty (THA) and hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) to patients with advanced hip OA by measuring their preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for either procedure. Seventy-three patients younger than 65 years with advanced hip OA reviewed information about the risks and benefits of THA and HRA and were asked which procedure they would choose and how much they would be willing to pay for it. Sixty-nine percent of patients chose THA (average WTP, $69 419) and 31% chose HRA (average WTP, $83 195). There was no correlation between WTP and annual income or total assets. However, patients with modest income and assets could have reported that they were willing and able to pay more than they could actually afford, and WTP dropped and correlation with income rose if we excluded high responses from the poorest respondents. These results may have important policy implications as patients are asked to share a greater burden of the cost of their care for chronic conditions such as OA.