Cost of illness (COI) studies have grown in importance in the last decade. They are frequently used in funding decisions for selected health care programs. Cost of illness study proponents present their results as objective, unbiased analysis. Yet, there are severe conceptual and methodological difficulties with the technique. Given its methodological weaknesses, the singular use of COI analysis to reach polic y decisions may be no better than the political decision process it was intended to replace.
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