58 Discrete Event Simulation for Health Technology Assessment
Another basic set of components in economic models like those used for
HTA are the unit costs (i.e., prices, although the term costs has a very precise
technical meaning) that are to be applied to the consumption of resources.
These unit costs are typically general to the entire model as the price does not
vary for each entity. In some cases, the cost accrued by the entity may be indi-
vidual (e.g., if the dose given is by weight) but the unit price (e.g., the cost per
ml of drug) is global. In some jurisdictions, the cost may vary according to
the payer—the private insurer may pay a different amount than the govern-
ment or the individual covering the cost privately—but all of these ...