TECHNOLOGY AND THE PRICE OF HEALTH CARE 277 (a) HIV survival curves, 1980-2000 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 Probability 0.5 0.4 1980 1986 1992 2000 0.3 0.2 0. 1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Years since infection (b) HIV expenditures, 1986-2004 4.5 4 . 3.5 3 2.5 $ billion 2 1.5 - 1 0.5 0 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 Year - Public Private - Total Figure 13.9. Trends in HIV survival and expenditures in the US. (a) HIV survival curves, 1980-2000. (b) HIV expenditures, 1986-2004. Source: Figures 3 and 4 from Philipson and Jena (2006). Reproduced with permission of De Gruyter.d Suppose Philipson and Jena analyze the numbers and find that the survival improvements depicted in Figure 13.9(a) are outweighed by the increased expen- ditures depicted in Figure 13.9(b). Assume that AIDS patients are well informed about the costs and benefits of the new technologies. Why would they overspend on HIV treatments that are not worth it? e In actuality, the researchers found that the technology improvements during this period such as HAART were massively beneficial to HIV patients, and that the survival gains far outweighed the increased cost of treatment. How do you square this statement with the fact that the price of treating HIV was increasing steadily over this period