Hospitals and Medical Centers
Hospitals must say how much they charge for hundreds of procedures. Here's why many don't.
Study finds few hospitals are meeting federal transparency requirements, yet only 2 have faced fines. ‘They’re not complying, and nobody’s accountable,’ a patient rights advocate said.
Ken AlltuckerUSA TODAY
Since the beginning of 2021, a federal law has required hospitals to post prices and establish a consumer-friendly price list for 300 common procedures and services.
But a new study finds more than half of U.S. hospitals have failed to meet either of the two main requirements of the federal Hospital Price Transparency law, which aims to give consumers an opportunity to shop for prices before getting nonemergency medical care.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued 352 warnings to hospitals about their failure to comply with the price transparency law. Only two hospitals have been fined. On June 7, CMS fined Northside Hospital Atlanta $883,180 and Northside Hospital Cherokee in Canton, Georgia, $214,320.