The Federal Trade Commission has escalated its push for healthcare price transparency by sending warning letters to two dozen hospital systems. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the hospitals could face scrutiny from both the FTC and the Department of Health and Human Services if they don't publicly post accurate costs for their services. The agency did not identify which hospitals received the letters.
The letters build on a CMS rule finalized in 2019 that requires hospitals to publish standard charges and negotiated rates in machine-readable files and consumer-friendly displays. Compliance has lagged: PatientRightsAdvocate.org reported in September that more than half of hospitals are still not fully compliant. CMS has fined 28 hospitals since 2021, with about a third of those penalties issued under the current administration.
The FTC argues that failing to post prices, or posting incomplete prices that omit extra fees, could be deceptive under federal consumer protection law. Ferguson noted that CMS rules serve as a "regulatory floor" and do not provide safe harbor from FTC enforcement. The warning letters coincide with a separate rule finalized Monday by HHS, Labor, and Treasury that tightens price transparency requirements for insurers.