Incentives and health care expenditures.

[tectonic_drift]

It is often argued that the threat of lawsuits makes doctors more likely to prescribe more procedures out of an abundance of caution to avoid malpractice suits; and thus the threat of lawsuits contributes to rising health care costs.

Perhaps, if one could also sue doctors for over-prescribing procedures, there would be a moderating effect on the presumed trend to over-prescribe.