Advocacy group finds major hospitals still not following price transparency rules

You have to hand it to PatientRightsAdvocate.org for holding hospitals accountable.

Under a federal rule adopted on Jan. 1, 2021, all hospitals were required to post prices for the 300 most common services and procedures.

PatientRightsAdvocate.org, a non-profit focused on price transparency, steadfastly tracks hospitals’ compliance. In February 2022, the advocacy group surveyed 1,500 hospitals nationwide and found just 14% were following the rule.

By February 2023, an analysis of 2,000 hospital websites found about 24.5% were sharing enough information with the public to be considered in compliance. A majority of hospitals have posted some information, but the group found most had posted information that was either incomplete or nearly impossible for the public to find. About 6% (116 hospitals) were not following the rule at all. And none of the hospitals owned by the nation’s largest hospital systems were fully compliant.

What’s the consequence? To date, just two hospitals nationwide have been fined by federal regulators for failing the transparency test.

You can see how hospitals in your state stack up, using this link on the PatientRightsAdvocate website. And you can read the full report here and share your feedback with Voices for Affordable Health here!