The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is consulting on proposed changes to its methods manuals so that it can use the new UK EQ-5D-5L value set in future evaluations. The consultation concerns one of the standard inputs into cost-effectiveness modelling, and its effect will be felt in appraisal strategy, value demonstration and launch planning.
EQ-5D is NICE’s preferred measure of health-related quality of life. The older EQ-5D-3L version asks patients to describe their health across five domains using three response levels. EQ-5D-5L keeps the same five domains but uses five response levels, giving a more detailed description of health states and allowing smaller differences in quality of life to be captured.
The value set converts those health-state descriptions into utility values for use in quality-adjusted life year (QALY) calculations. NICE said it has so far used an older value set based on UK data collected in the early 1990s. The new UK EQ-5D-5L value set reflects more recent public preferences and uses updated methods for collecting and modelling those preferences.
The consultation includes proposed updates to the technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies manual, the developing NICE guidelines manual and three impact assessments. These examine effects on cost-effectiveness calculations, severity modifier eligibility, and equalities or health inequalities.
NICE’s initial impact work suggests that the direction of effect will not be uniform. In a sample of 37 published technology appraisals, cancer medicines became more cost effective when modelled with the new value set, while results for non-cancer medicines were mixed.
The change would apply only to topics that start after the updated manuals are published. Companies preparing future submissions will need to test how the new value set affects base-case results, scenario analyses and severity arguments, particularly where the treatment effect includes quality-of-life gains without a clear survival benefit.
The consultation runs from 15 April to 27 May 2026.
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE
Link: Have your say on NICE’s adoption of the new EQ-5D-5L value set
Date: 15 April 2026
