Almost two years after a Trump-era cost transparency rule took effect, many hospitals are flouting a requirement that they post the prices for common goods and services online — with little risk of facing penalties, Axios reports.
A new report from a patient advocacy group shows continued industry resistance to a rule some believed could lead to more price competition or further regulation.
The report, published by the consumer advocacy group, PatientRightsAdvocate.org, is one of the first to compare hospital disclosures and a separate set of public pricing reports that insurers and group health plans had to start posting on July 1.
The group cross-referenced 20 price disclosures for a sample of hospitals and found that prices that hospitals omitted could be found in the insurance company files.
“Some of the prices that are found in insurance company price files appear with an ‘N/A’ or are blank in the corresponding hospital price lists,” the group wrote. “This concrete evidence from the insurance files demonstrates that real prices exist and hospitals are flouting the hospital price transparency rule.” Read more.
