Debate: The QALY argument: A physician's and a philosopher's view

Abstract

The arguments used by Gavin Mooney in his scornful response to Castigating QALYs, (1,2) are examined. In spite of the rhetoric there is a broad measure of agreement about the deficiencies of QALYs as a means of distributing scarce resources. The main area of conflict is that John Rawles favours campaigning for more resources while Gavin Mooney, constrained by his remit as a health economist, favours acceptance of the present level of funding and better methods of distributing resources.