In accordance with a Trump administration rule that was implemented on Friday, hospitals are now necessitated to divulge the rates they privately negotiate with insurers.
Although President Donald Trump has gloated that the historic measure would save patients money, health policy experts are not quite on the same page.
Hospital Price Transparency Rule
This January is ushering the new federal rule for hospitals across the country. The new Price Transparency Rule necessitates hospitals to publicly post prices for all services they offer and break down such prices by procedure and components, reported KTVQ.
According to hospitals, which unsuccessfully combatted the rule in court, it is an additional extra burden on them while they are tackling COVID-19.
The effort is rooted in an executive order the incumbent president issued in 2019.
The Trump administration contends that such price transparency would allow patients to shop for lower-priced medical services and help diminish health care costs generally -- one of his main vows during his campaigns and while in office.
According to Trump on Twitter, "Transparency in medical pricing will be one of the biggest and most important things done for the American citizen. Enjoy all the extra money you will have."
The rule applies to an estimated 6,000 hospitals. This orders them to provide in an online, searchable way the rates for 300 common services, including outpatient visits, X-rays, lab tests, and Cesarean deliveries, reported CNN.
Having been commenced on January 1, hospitals operating in the US are required to provide transparent, accessible pricing information on the internet regarding the items and services they offer. The Trump government's Transparency Rule is engineered in a way that lets people select where they would prefer to receive their treatment, taking into account the price.
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Hospitals that do not submit will face a civil penalty of a maximum of $300 per day. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, it will start auditing hospitals this January.
The new rule also seeks to help patients who are usually blindsided by expensive medical payments.
According to Forrest Ehlinger, Chief Resource Officer for Benefis Health System, "The new law that went into effect has multiple components, both around charges as well as shoppable services. And so some of those parts we already have on our website, that you can go and find specifically around what our charge master is and what our cash pricing is. We're still working on the shoppable services component."
The medical industry contends that the disclosure may actually confuse patients instead of serving to inform them. It does not inform consumers what out-of-pocket charges they could face since the posted rates do not take into consideration a patient's copay requirements and personal deductible.
While a number of hospitals are working on supplying the new information to their patients, the Great Falls Clinic has had their pricing data for their services available to people with internet access.
In early January 2021, the Center for Medicare Services seeks to start auditing hospitals for compliance with the new Price Transparency Rule.
