The American Hospital Association expressed concern about legislative proposals regarding hospital price transparency that it said would “diverge from current regulatory requirements and impose additional administrative burdens on hospitals and health systems.”
The AHA outlined its concerns in a Jan. 21 letter to the House Budget Committee. In its letter, the AHA said there are provisions that have been drafted that would no longer recognize price estimator tools as a method to meet the shoppable service requirement under hospital price transparency regulations.
“This change would both reduce access to a consumer-friendly research tool and unfairly penalize hospitals that have spent significant capital to comply with the regulation,” the AHA said in its letter, adding that passing legislation that conflicts with existing requirements could undermine CMS’ efforts to update the rule.
The AHA outlined a series of steps Congress should take to support hospital price transparency efforts:
- Review and streamline transparency policies to reduce patient confusion and regulatory burden.
- Focus on ensuring pre-service estimates are as accurate as possible, including by simplifying benefit design.
- Continue seeking patient, provider and payer input to make price transparency more patient-centered.
- Avoid new legislation or regulations that add unnecessary costs to health systems or complicate providers’ ability to deliver meaningful price estimates.
Federal price transparency laws have been in effect for hospitals since Jan. 1, 2021. Since the laws were enacted, 27 hospitals have been fined for violations.
The AHA said in its letter that hospitals have invested “countless staff hours and substantial resources in adhering to the provisions and remain committed to ensuring they meet the regulatory requirements, even as the provisions have been continually modified since implementation.”
