A new report from PatientRightsAdvocate.org finds that most U.S. hospitals continue to hide actual prices from consumers nearly 20 months after the Hospital Price Transparency Rule went into effect, according to an Aug. 9 press release from the organization.
The transparency law went into effect in January 2021 to establish a functional, competitive market in healthcare for customer benefit. However, the organization's Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency Compliance Report indicates that just 16 percent of the 2,000 hospitals reviewed comply with the rule.
Cynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org said a similar report conducted in February 2022 found just 14.6 percent in compliance.
"The quickest way to substantially improve compliance is through monetary fines which work, as our report shows," Ms. Fisher said.
The August 2022 analysis of hospitals across the U.S. found:
- Only 319 (16 percent) complied with the rule.
- 101 hospitals (5.1 percent) did not post standard charges files and were in total non-compliance.
- Two of the largest hospital chains in the U.S. are not complying.