Journal profile · Health Care Sciences & Services
Journal of Health Economics
ISSN 0167-6296 · eISSN 1879-1646 · Elsevier · NETHERLANDS · Bimonthly · Founded 1982
Journal of Health Economics: CAS Zone 2 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.78; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,260; median 263 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 99 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Health Economics is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 2 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Healthcare Policy and Management, Global Health Care Issues and Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life, together about 48.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics and General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Browse through a wide range of high-quality academic journals offered by Elsevier, including open access options, to enrich your research journey.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Health Care Sciences & Services
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance20.6%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions19.1%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9.1%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences4.4%
- Gender, Labor, and Family DynamicsSocial Sciences4.4%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions3.9%
- Economic and Environmental ValuationEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.6%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.78LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.47LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.11LetPub ·
- h-index
- 111LetPub ·
- h-index
- 220OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,202OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.22OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 41.63%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 86LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,057 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 60 | 41 | 23 |
| 2025 | 99 | 57 | 231 |
| 2024 | 77 | 45 | 506 |
| 2023 | 84 | 45 | 1,158 |
| 2022 | 92 | 55 | 2,073 |
| 2021 | 117 | 66 | 2,739 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
263 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 202 days – 358 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 9 days (101 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 273 days
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (174 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,260 / EUR 3,990 / GBP 3,410 / JPY 528,370 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1982
- ISSN
- 0167-6296
- Electronic ISSN
- 1879-1646
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Health Economics
What CAS zone is Journal of Health Economics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Health Economics is in Zone 2 of Economics, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Health Care Sciences & Services / Health Policy & Services / Economics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Health Economics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.78; CiteScore 6.4, h-index 220.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Health Economics?
Based on the dates recorded on 101 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 263 days (interquartile range 202–358 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Journal of Health Economics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Health Economics is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Health Economics open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Health Economics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,260.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .