The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is asking the Government Accountability Office to open an investigation into hospitals' compliance with the federal price transparency rules that went into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
"We are concerned with continuing reports of low hospital compliance and some hospitals’ complete lack of compliance," Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. and Cathy McMorris Rodgers wrote in the Nov. 4 letter. "We are also troubled by reports that some hospitals disclosing their prices are making it difficult for consumers to access the price information."
The committee is asking the Government Accountability Office to report on the following questions:
1. To what extent are hospitals complying with the requirement to make public a machine-readable file containing a list of all the standard charges for all items and services?
2. To what extent are hospitals complying with the requirements regarding the online posting of a machine-readable list of hospital standards and charges, as well as a consumer-friendly list of the 300 shoppable services and their prices?
3. To what extent is the price information easily accessible for consumers, including whether the price information is readily displayed?
4. How is CMS monitoring and enforcing hospitals' compliance with the rule, including what steps is CMS taking to ensure compliance? To what extent has CMS taken action against hospitals noncompliant with the final rule?