Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge Action Over Hospital Pricing Noncompliance

In an effort to reduce healthcare costs, a new ruling mandates that hospitals be transparent about the prices they charge for their services. Some healthcare facilities have not complied with the ruling, such as by making it difficult to access prices online. At the same time, the cost of a procedure can vary greatly—one facility charged between $22,000 and $102,000 for the same knee replacement procedure based on the patient’s payer. A group of bipartisan lawmakers has written a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra demanding action.

According to the letter, “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.” Read more here.

(Source: Samantha Liss, HealthCareDive, 4/14/21)