Leadership | 06.21.22
Hospitals Face Penalties for First Time for Failing to Make Prices Public
by Wall Street Journal
Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its first fines under the federal price transparency law that took effect in January 2021. Georgia-based Northside Hospital Atlanta and Northside Hospital Cherokee were fined nearly $1.1 million in total fines for failing to disclose their prices. Meanwhile, a recent analysis of compliance with the law that examined hospital websites between July and September 2021 found that just 6 percent of over 5,200 U.S. hospitals complied by posting the two required price lists on their websites. About 14 percent had just posted the comprehensive price list, and 30 percent published the list of shoppable prices. CMS has sent over 350 warning letters to hospitals as of June, and about 160 hospitals have yet to be in compliance after having been asked to outline their plan to get there.
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