But in 2022, a Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) review of more than 6,400 hospitals found that nearly two-thirds were not complying with price transparency requirements.3 More recent records suggest that most hospitals are still not compliant today.4Other organizations have suggested as many as 75 percent of hospitals are ignoring the price transparency rule.5 The Biden administration has come under fire from lawmakers for failing to enforce the rule with publicly accessible information, with one member of Congress noting that, “we can get more information about a local restaurant from Yelp than you can get about your local hospital from CMS.”6
Thousands of pages of new records obtained by FGA have shined a light on precisely why so few hospitals are compliant with price transparency requirements. These CMS records—which include detailed warnings, notices of violations, corrective action plan requests, and monetary penalties—span more than 250 hospitals in 46 states and Washington, D.C. The conclusion drawn from the records is clear: CMS simply does not take price transparency seriously.
CMS is providing substantial deference to hospitals on price transparency requirements
Despite the price transparency rule taking effect in January 2021, the Biden administration waited four months before CMS began taking any action, with the first batch of warnings issued in mid-April 2021.7 Even so, only a handful of hospitals received warnings in this first month of action—a lackluster start to price transparency enforcement.
Healthcare costs have long been an issue in K-12 budgets.