In cost-benefit analysis, how are costs and benefits expressed?

• A. Net health outcomes per dollar spent
• B. Health outcomes per cost expended
• C. Cost per quality-adjusted life year gained
• D. Dollars of benefits per dollars expended

Answer: (D)

In cost-benefit analysis, both costs and benefits are expressed in monetary terms so they can be compared on the same scale. The best way to express this is the dollars of benefits gained for every dollar spent—the benefit-cost ratio. This shows how much value is created for each unit of cost and helps determine whether benefits exceed costs (ratio greater than 1). The other options describe health outcomes per unit of cost or cost per health outcome, which align with cost-effectiveness or cost-utility analyses rather than the monetized comparison central to cost-benefit analysis.