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Designed To Fail: The Medicare Auction For Durable Medical Equipment

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Cramton
  • Sean Ellermeyer
  • Brett Katzman

Abstract

We examine the theoretical properties of the auction for Medicare Durable Medical Equipment. Two unique features of the Medicare auction are (1) winners are paid the median winning bid and (2) bids are nonbinding. We show that median pricing results in allocation inefficiencies as some high‐cost firms potentially displace low‐cost firms as winners. Further, the auction may leave demand unfulfilled as some winners refuse to supply because the price is set below their cost. We also introduce a model of nonbinding bids that establishes the rationality of a lowball bid strategy employed by many bidders in the actual Medicare auctions and recently replicated in Caltech experiments. We contrast the median‐price auction with the standard clearing‐price auction where each firm bids true costs as a dominant strategy, resulting in competitive equilibrium prices and full efficiency. (JEL D44, I11, H57)

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Cramton & Sean Ellermeyer & Brett Katzman, 2015. "Designed To Fail: The Medicare Auction For Durable Medical Equipment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(1), pages 469-485, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:53:y:2015:i:1:p:469-485
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12101
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    Cited by:

    1. Jose Alcalde & Matthias Dahm, 2016. "Proportional payoffs in legislative bargaining with weighted voting: a characterization," Discussion Papers 2016-03, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    2. Ehrhart, Karl-Martin & Hanke, Ann-Katrin & Ott, Marion, 2020. "A small volume reduction that melts down the market: Auctions with endogenous rationing," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-014, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    3. Tan, Lijia & Wei, Lijia, 2020. "Evaluating car license auction mechanisms: Theory and experimental evidence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Renuka M. Diwan & Paul J. Eliason & Riley League & Jetson Leder-Luis & Ryan C. McDevitt & James W. Roberts, 2026. "Competition and Fraud in Health Care," NBER Working Papers 34802, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. John Kautter & Gregory Pope, 2014. "Competitive bidding for Medicare Part B clinical laboratory services," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 95-108, June.
    6. Lijia Tan & Lijia Wei, 2014. "Car License Auction: Theory and Experimental Evidence," Working Papers 1401, Xiamen Unversity, The Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics, Finance and Economics Experimental Laboratory, revised 02 Sep 2014.
    7. Alcalde, José & Dahm, Matthias, 2019. "Dual sourcing with price discovery," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 225-246.
    8. Peter Cramton, 2012. "Medicare Auction Reform," Papers of Peter Cramton 11marv, University of Maryland, Department of Economics - Peter Cramton, revised 2012.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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