The contingent valuation method--appraising the appraisers.

Morrison & Gyldmark (MG) in a recent issue of health economics reviewed the use of the contingent valuation (CV) method of measuring willingness to pay in the health area. Although it is useful to examine the appropriate role of the CV method in the health care field, the appraisal by MG has a number of limitations which are pointed out in this paper. These relate to some inaccuracies in the review of the literature, the limited nature of the criteria proposed by MG to evaluate CV studies, and finally I argue that the comparison between CV, QALYs, and HYEs is premature and confuses rather than clarifies the debate.