In a prior News Brief, “Final Rule on Hospital Price Transparency Released,” on November 15, 2019 the Trump administration issued a final rule on hospital pricing transparency. This final rule was slated to take effect January 1, 2021 and required hospitals to provide easily accessible billing information to patients seeking care such as:
- Overall gross charges
- Payer-specific negotiated charges
- Amount the hospital would accept for a payment made in cash; and
- The minimum and maximum negotiated hospital charges
However, in December of 2019 the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a lawsuit to block the hospital pricing transparency regulations from being implemented on the basis that disclosure of negotiated prices violates their First Amendment rights. In turn, on June 23, 2020, a district judge ruled in favor of the Trump administration and maintained the proposed hospital pricing transparency rule stating it was within the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) right to mandate the release of this information.
This will most likely not be the final attempt by the AHA to block this legislature from taking effect January 1, 2021 and may likely continue to be appealed and ultimately be heard by the Supreme Court. The Cowden team will continue to monitor the hospital pricing transparency status and share them once updates are released. Should you have any questions on the attached News Brief, please reach out to us.
Contact your Cowden representative for more information on this or other compliance issues.