Willingness to pay for a newborn screening for SMA

 

This online willingness-to-pay survey of US adults (n = 982) was conducted to assess population preferences for newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and how test preferences varied depending on immediate treatment implications. Respondents were asked to imagine being parents of a newborn. Each respondent was presented with two hypothetical scenarios following the SMA screening test: current standard of care (no treatment available) and one of three randomly assigned scenarios (new treatment available to improve functioning, survival, or both). A bidding game was used to elicit willingness to pay for the SMA test, and a two-part model was performed to estimate median and mean willingness-to-pay values. The survey revealed that most people would prefer and would be willing to pay for testing their newborn for spinal muscular atrophy, even in the absence of direct treatment. People perceive the spinal muscular atrophy test more valuable if treatment were available to improve the newborn’s functioning and survival.

Lin PJ, Yeh WS, Neumann PJ. Willingness to Pay for a Newborn Screening Test for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Pediatr Neurol. 2016 Sep 15. pii: S0887-8994(16)30292-2.