Determinants of Willingness to Pay for a New Therapy in a Sample of Menopausal-Aged Women

Background: Menopause is a natural physiological event that usually begins in women between the ages of 48 and 55 years. In many cases, this event is associated with unpleasant somatic-vegetative, urogenital or psychological symptoms. Objective: To test the health and social demographic factors (especially household income level) that influence willingness to pay (WTP) for a new hormone-free treatment in women of menopausal age. Methods: 1365 women between the ages of 45 and 73 years were surveyed about their health and WTP for the new treatment. WTP was evaluated with a closed-ended binary questionnaire (four groups with different levels of co-payment between €15 and €60), using the contingent valuation method. The average WTP was calculated according to the area under the demand function. Factors contributing to payment readiness were examined by means of binary logistic regression. Results: WTP was significantly affected by women's opinion of the new medication, the level of co-payment required, net household income, whether currently in treatment for menopausal symptoms, and Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) values. Compared with other factors, the level of co-payment was predicted to have a negative impact on WTP. Income level is an important factor in WTP and correlates highly with several other health-related variables (WHO-5 index, MRS value, receipt of other menopause medicines and existing co-morbidity). The average co-payment that our group of women was willing to pay was between €17 and €35 per month, or €24 to €42 for women who were currently receiving treatment for symptoms of menopause. While interpreting the results, it should be considered that the hypothetical therapy was assumed to be a new non-reimbursable alternative to conventional therapy offered under the existing statutory framework for health insurance in Germany. Conclusions: Despite some methodological limitations, these results are useful for examining the factors affecting WTP and incremental utilities for future medicine dealing with menopause.