Bipartisan Group of Legislators Demand Better Enforcement of Hospital Price Transparency

A bipartisan group of legislators from the U.S. House of Representatives wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra last week demanding increased enforcement of the hospital price transparency rule that took effect at the beginning of the year. Numerous recent studies have shown widespread non-compliance with the rule. In a new study, the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that just 42 percent of large hospitals are publishing discounted cash rates and only 34 are posting negotiated rates. And recent research published in Health Affairs finds that two-thirds of large hospitals are not following the rule.

Speaking for the more than 90 percent of Americans who want healthcare price transparency, Energy and Commerce Committee leadership, Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) wrote:

We are concerned about troubling reports of some hospitals either acting slowly to comply with the requirements of the final rule, or not taking any action to date to comply. We urge you to ensure that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conducts vigorous oversight and enforces full compliance with the final rule...

We urge HHS to enforce the final rule to ensure hospitals are fully compliant with the disclosure requirements so that patients can readily access the price information for all items and services in an easy-to-use format. Given the widespread non-compliance by hospitals, we urge HHS to revisit its enforcement tools, including the amount of the civil penalty, and to conduct regular audits of hospitals for compliance.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Sec. Becerra lamented, "For far too long, people have had no idea what they're going to pay if they walk into a hospital." He promised "robust enforcement" of the price transparency rule because "the American people are entitled to know what they're buying."

We applaud Sec. Becerra and encourage him to go further. Together we will end price gouging and lower healthcare costs.