hospital price transparency

Hospitals Continue to Struggle with Price Transparency

Since the beginning of 2021, hospitals have been required to make their prices transparent to the public. Five years later, roughly half of them do – more than at any point since the requirement took effect. But that also means that roughly half of them still do not. Under the law, hospitals are required to make their prices public via machine-readable files that show standard charges, gross prices, negotiated rates with specific payers, discounted cash prices, and prices for the 300 most commonly provided hospital services. Progress toward achieving this objective, however, has been slow: compliance estimated at 5.6 percent [...]

joe2026-09-16T16:23:32-04:00September 17, 2026|hospitals|

Administration, Congress, Press Hospitals for Reforms

Even at a time when passing major health care legislation in the near future becomes increasingly unlikely, the hospital community continues to face serious challenges from both the administration and Congress. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed making more Medicare outpatient payments on a site-neutral basis and reducing Medicare payments to hospitals for prescription drugs covered by the 340B drug pricing program. It also threatens other changes in the 340B program that hospitals believe will make it more difficult – and costly – to participate in. Meanwhile, Congress is considering increasing federal oversight of the finances of [...]

joe2026-07-07T16:42:00-04:00July 8, 2026|340b, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid regulations|

Federal Health Policy Update for July 2

Don’t Miss: CMS proposes CY 2027 Medicare outpatient rates, reviving 340B cuts, expanding site-neutral payments CMS calls for modest Medicare home health pay hike, more ways to oust providers Court halts borrowing limit that jeopardized supply of qualified health professionals The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 25-July 2. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Proposed CY 2027 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Rule CMS has published its proposed Medicare FY 2027 outpatient and ambulatory surgical center prospective payment system rule. The proposed [...]

joe2026-07-02T16:55:39-04:00July 2, 2026|340b, Accountable Care Organization, Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 11

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 5-11. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Don’t Miss: CMS warns more than 500 hospitals for failing to meet price transparency requirements HHS OIG looks at Medicare Advantage rejections of post-acute services Federal court rejects $100,000 H-1B visa fee HHS RFI seeks new approaches, including AI, for treating addiction CMS creates new office to help with tech modernization Congress Some Republican members of Congress continue to plan for a third party-line reconciliation bill to focus on health care affordability. The [...]

joe2026-06-11T16:08:27-04:00June 11, 2026|Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

CMS Warns Hospitals About Price Transparency

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has written to more than 500 hospitals, warning them that they are failing to meet federal requirements for price transparency. The letter warns hospitals that they are at risk of fines if they do not publicly provide more and better price information. Some have been told they must submit improvement plans. CMS’s view is that the lack of price transparency prevents consumers from comparing hospitals’ prices for services. Learn more about the CMS warning and find a link to a list of the hospitals that have been warned in the AP article “Trump [...]

joe2026-06-09T17:20:07-04:00June 10, 2026|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals|

Federal Health Policy Update for April 10

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 4-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate were in recess this week and are scheduled to be back in session on April 14. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated that the House will not vote on the Senate‑passed Department of Homeland Security continuing resolution until there is meaningful progress on a reconciliation package to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In an effort to narrow the scope [...]

joe2026-04-10T13:43:20-04:00April 10, 2026|340b, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare reimbursement policy|

PRICE TRANSPARENCY NOT LIVING UP TO OBJECTIVE – YET

The requirement that hospitals post transparent information about their prices is not yet leading consumers to do more price shopping before obtaining care. Instead, to the degree that hospitals are fulfilling the requirement at all, the data they share is mostly used by other hospitals and insurers to aid in their negotiations with one another. Even when hospitals post the required data – many still do not – that data often is not presented in a way that is useful, or even comprehensible, for consumers. In addition, it can be difficult for consumers to make apples-to-apples comparisons between providers because [...]

joe2026-02-25T08:05:53-05:00February 25, 2026|hospitals|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 21 through December 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Congress is back in session to discuss the Affordable Care Act tax credits set to end on December 31and other extenders that will expire on January 30, 2026 along with the latest continuing resolution (CR). Members continue to negotiate potential solutions to the expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies but there is no consensus on whether or how to address the expiring benefit. Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) [...]

joe2025-12-04T15:05:28-05:00December 4, 2025|340b, Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for May 29

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 23-29. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate are out of Washington, D.C. this week for the Memorial Day holiday and will return to Washington on June 3. Senate Republican staff is working on the House-passed reconciliation bill to identify provisions that may need to change or be excluded to comply with the Senate’s rules for reconciliation bills. At the same time, some Republican senators have expressed opposition to the House reconciliation bill; some maintain that [...]

joe2025-05-29T15:36:56-04:00May 29, 2025|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for March 27

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 21-27. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate need to pass a joint budget resolution as a first step before committees can begin writing legislation to pass under reconciliation. Each chamber has passed its own budget resolution and while the two are very different, congressional leaders have agreed to write a less prescriptive resolution that will permit each chamber’s committees to determine the level of spending and saving required and then will try to work out [...]

joe2025-03-27T17:03:07-04:00March 27, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|