West Covina (Calif.) Medical Center became the most recent hospital to be penalized for alleged price transparency violations when CMS levied a $59,100 fine against it in September. It is now the latest to fight back against the fine.
The hospital has appealed its fine, according to a Jan. 19 update on CMS' price transparency enforcement website. It's one of eight hospitals that currently have appeals pending. Fourteen hospitals have been fined in total.
A CMS spokesperson told Becker's the agency does not comment on appeals.
These are the eight hospitals appealing fines, along with the fine amounts:
- UF Health North (Jacksonville, Fla.): $979,000
- Community First Medical Center (Chicago): $847,740
- Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring, Md.): $325,710
- Kell West Regional Hospital (Wichita Falls, Texas): $117,260
- Hospital General Castaner (Lares, Puerto Rico): $101,400
- Fulton County Hospital (Salem, Ark.): $63,900
- West Covina (Calif.) Medical Center: $59,100
- Samaritan Hospital-Albany (N.Y.) Memorial Campus: $56,940
CMS levies different civil monetary penalties on hospitals based on the number of beds the facility has. Hospitals with 30 or fewer beds can receive a maximum penalty per day of $300. The maximum daily fine for hospitals with at least 31 and up to 550 beds is the number of beds times $10. For hospitals with greater than 550 beds, the maximum daily fine is $5,550.