[blueash]

I would add that in my personal experience, n=1, the primary driver of excessive testing was not fear of lawyers but demanding patients who believed every cough needed a chest xray or later a CT. Every headache required a brain scan etc etc.

A simple reading of past medical threads here will find many postings from Villagers who helpfully suggest all the tests you should be getting for whatever medical symptom you post about.

You shouldn't worry about lawyers or malpractice if you don't commit malpractice and stay aware and conform to the standard of care. And yes, I am well aware that being innocent of malpractice is not the same as not being accused and dragged through the process.

But the original post here is correct. There is lots of fraud and firing the people who look for fraud is the exact opposite of cost cutting even if it saves the salary of the inspector that saving is completely cancelled by the lack of recovery of the fraudulent payments. And once the industries and individuals know there is no longer any oversight then the fraud, or creative accounting and billing will certainly get worse.

Same thing for IRS agents where they more than make up for their salary with increased collections of taxes owed, (a $1 increase in spending on the IRS's enforcement activities results in $5 to $9 of increased revenues. ), and the deterrent factor of not trying to get away with cheating adds even more.