Are health care scams infectious? Empirical evidence on contagion in health care fraud

Abstract

This paper examines the presence of contagion in health care fraud across jurisdictional boundaries. Using state‐level data for the United States, we find evidence of contagion in medical fraud. There are also spillovers from border corruption on medical fraud, but no evidence of spillovers from international borders. In other findings, greater urbanization, greater elderly population, and higher hospital occupancy positively contribute to medical fraud, while nursing employment has a mitigating effect. Further, it is economic inequality rather than economic prosperity that seems relevant. The main findings are robust to consideration of simultaneity, but dependent upon the prevalence of fraud across states.

The Diffusion of Health Care Fraud: A Network Analysis

“…www.dartmouthatlas.org, accessed February 18, 2021. Durable medical equipment fraud in South Florida played a central role in Carl Hiaasen's novel "Bad Monkey" (2013).38 Goel (2020) suggests that these spillover effects may extent even beyond state borders, a result consistent with our evidence from HRRs which often cross state lines.…”

How do moral hazard behaviors lead to the waste of medical insurance funds? An empirical study from China

“…Shepherd and Button argue that organizational inhibitions for immoral behaviors are due to the construction of differential rationalization interpretation; wherever occupational crimes are normalized, the perception that fraud is ordinary, mundane activities, people are more likely to view them as tolerable practices ( 72 ). A study from the United States found that the prevalence of moral hazard in healthcare fraud has a contagious effect ( 73 ). As Chinese say that the law does not blame the public, which means that when a certain behavior has a certain group or universality, even if the behavior contains some illegal or unreasonable factors, the law is difficult to punish.…”

Managing the risk of COVID‐19 via vaccine passports: Modeling economic and policy implications

“…), or it may wholly or partially subcontract the supply of passports to a private vendor. On the negative side, government involvement might engender possibilities of fraud (Goel, 2021a , 2021b ). Such fraud could entail both monetary and nonmonetary costs.…”

“…On the negative side, government involvement might engender possibilities of fraud (Goel, 2021a(Goel, , 2021b. Such fraud could entail both monetary and nonmonetary costs.…”