Trump Admin Warns Over 500 Hospitals to Provide More Price Info or Face Fines

The Trump administration has warned more than 500 hospitals that they are failing to provide the public with basic pricing information — arguing that the lack of disclosure is keeping healthcare costs higher than they should be.

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The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or, in more severe cases, requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Failing to comply with the warnings comes with penalties as high as $2 million annually for each recipient that doesn’t create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem that patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. The AP has posted the list of hospitals that have received letters.

Beege Welborn

From my friend Lzi Mair, who notes that many of the big hospital systems are asking for rate hikes well above the rate of inflation.

  • Colorado: "CommonSpirit has informed the insurance company it will leave its health plans if Anthem does not agree to reimbursement rate increases more than three times the rate of inflation..."
  • Colorado (again): "HCA demanded... a double-digit hike in Colorado..."
  • Connecticut: "multiple times higher than the Connecticut cost growth benchmark..."
  • Florida: "Florida Blue says it is offering increases in reimbursements in amounts more than the inflation rate..."
  • Georgia: "more than twice the rate of inflation each year for the next three years." 
  • Louisiana: "LCMC is demanding a more than 40% price hike..."
  • Missouri: "asking for [a reimbursement rate] five times higher than inflation..."
  • Nebraska: "CHI Health is demanding rate increases that are 'more than three times the rate of inflation..."
  • North Carolina: "UNC Health's current stance in negotiations would mean a $570 million increase in healthcare costs over the life of their proposed three-year contract..."
  • Oregon: "unreasonable increases that far exceed inflation..."
  • South Carolina: "HCA demanded a 30 percent increase in rates over two years..."
  • Texas: "HCA demanded... a one-year 16 percent increase in Texas..."
  • Virginia: "Bon Secours wanted a rate increase equaling 30% over five years..."

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