47 Florida hospitals noncompliant with federal price transparency rule, study finds

By

Nicole Pasia

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All but two Florida hospitals analyzed in a July 2021 report are noncompliant with a January 2021 federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) price transparency rule — nearly one in 10 of surveyed hospitals for the report. According to the study, Florida had the second most noncompliant hospitals nationwide — only after Nevada, with 67. 

 

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More than 6,000 hospitals are subject to ACA Public Disclosure Requirements, which state: 

“A hospital must establish, update, and make public a list of all standard charges for all items and services online.”

PatientRightsAdvocate.org analyzed a random sample of 500 hospitals nationwide between May 15 and July 8, 2021, approximately six months after the rule became effective. The study measured price transparency by factors such as disclosing standard charge files, negotiated rates, and discounted cash prices. Hospitals were identified as noncompliant if they did not disclose at least one of the five standard charge criteria described by the rule, or posted incomplete machine-readable data.

Noncompliant hospitals in Florida include: Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Tampa General Hospital, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, and several Halifax Health Medical Center branches. 

See data on 12 of the 47 noncompliant hospitals from the study below: 

 

Spreadsheet data from 12 noncompliant Florida hospitals
Image: PatientsRightsAdvocate.org

 

The study called for accountability among Florida hospitals to provide more clear price transparency: 

 

  1. Stricter penalties for noncompliance
  2. Enhanced requirements for list of shoppable services
  3. Requirements for actual prices, not estimates
  4. Requirements for clear pricing data standards.

 

The Florida Hospital Association did not immediately respond to requests for commentary.