In current health economics, costs are becoming increasingly important in evaluating medical interventions. Economic analyses for healthcare interventions include cost minimization studies, cost effectiveness analyses, and cost utilization analyses. Cost analysis includes direct costs, expenses and compensation. Some of the direct costs such as loss of productivity due to time off work, transportation to health care facilities, and the cost of hiring a caregiver can also be included in the cost analysis and the broader total cost to society. Although cost is an important consideration, the value of healthcare is most relevant in the analysis of healthcare interventions. The value of medical care has both efficacy and cost components and is defined as the net benefit of medical care relative to the net cost of medical care. Methods of assessing benefit versus cost in spine surgery are not uniform and vary with the perspectives of stakeholders in the Medicare system. Hospitals and other providers focus on outcomes and costs that affect hospitalization, such as length of stay, endovascular use, and complications. Insurers and others, on the other hand, tend to focus on the intermediate portion of the medical process, such as readmission within 90 days, or the cost of outpatient care. The value of medical interventions to physicians and patients is built into a longer time frame than the hospitalization period, and their impact on quality of life can last a lifetime. Cost-utilization studies provide the most useful information about medical care because utility scores can be obtained for patients’ health status over time. Assessment methods (e.g., QALYs) that directly reflect quality of life and can be applied across diseases are important prerequisites for assessing the value of orthopaedic care. Follow-up time is also an important factor in value assessment, as a single fragment of treatment is much less meaningful in value assessment.