Monitoring for Waste: Evidence from Medicare Audits
研究医疗保险监控对政府节省、医生行为和患者健康的影响，发现每花1美元监控费可节省24-29美元，主要来自威慑未来低价值医疗，且未损害患者健康。
Abstract This article examines the trade-offs of monitoring for wasteful public spending. By penalizing unnecessary spending, monitoring improves the quality of public expenditure and incentivizes firms to invest in compliance technology. I study a large Medicare program that monitored for unnecessary health care spending and consider its effect on government savings, provider behavior, and patient health. Every dollar Medicare spent on monitoring generated $24–$29 in government savings. The majority of savings stem from the deterrence of future care, rather than reclaimed payments from prior care. I do not find evidence that the health of the marginal patient is harmed, indicating that monitoring primarily deters low-value care. Monitoring does increase provider administrative costs, but these costs are mostly incurred up-front and include investments in technology to assess the medical necessity of care.