The article claims that 40% of the cost is operational inefficiencies, fraud, and ineffective care citing [0]. If all orthodontists are fully occupied and there

The article claims that 40% of the cost is operational inefficiencies, fraud, and ineffective care citing [0]. If all orthodontists are fully occupied and there's no demand being cut, then yes, removing those inefficiencies will just boost orthodontic pay. But it sounds like at least some of those inefficiencies involve: 1. People getting unnecessary orthodontic treatments (eliminating those cuts demand [not just quantity demanded]) 2. People getting ineffective treatments and needing a second treatment (same as 1) 3. Orthodontists being allocated in a way that lowers their overall productivity--empty time in their schedules, doing stuff they're less skilled at, etc. If my orthodontist spends less time on administrivia or repeat procedures, he can fix more people's teeth without us training a second orthodontist. Similarly, if there are apartments sitting empty for a month because it's hard to match people with apartments, better software can fit more people into San Francisco. (Going deeper, my bedroom is empty 12+ hours a day. I could totally sublet it to someone who works the night shift. I just need an efficient system to find such a person who's as interested in saving money as much as I am. Or as much as I was a few years ago. Now, I might not opt for this plan.) [0] http://www.who.int/whr/2010/10_summary_en.pdf?ua=1 http://www.who.int/whr/2010/10_summary_en.pdf?ua=1