FTC Warns 24 Major Healthcare Services Over Price Transparency

Let me be clear: these letters are a warning, FTC Chairperson Andrew Ferguson said during an event. The Federal Trade Commission announced that it had sent warning letters to 24 of the nation’s largest healthcare services regarding compliance with hospital price transparency requirements.

Federal Trade Commission Issues Hospital Transparency Warnings

The regulatory action targets large healthcare services that fail to provide patients with timely, accurate, and complete pricing for healthcare services, particularly non-emergency procedures scheduled in advance. The letters serve as direct notification that the commission is prepared to take legal action if organizations do not correct pricing disclosure deficiencies. The Federal Trade Commission stated that inadequate pricing information harms patients by preventing them from comparing competing provider services and making informed financial decisions.

The commission’s warnings arrived alongside a final rule released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services aimed at enhancing price transparency regulations. While CMS rules establish baseline requirements, the Federal Trade Commission’s letters emphasize that compliance with CMS standards does not provide a safe harbor from liability under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The regulator noted that unfair or deceptive marketplace practices, such as omitting physician or facility fees that mislead patients about the full cost of care, fall directly under federal oversight.

Many Hospitals Fail to Comply with Price Transparency Rules

Reports published earlier in the year and confirmed by the administration revealed that more than 500 hospitals received warning notices or Corrective Action Plan requests from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services between April and early June for failing to comply with the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule. An August review of 2,000 hospitals conducted by advocacy group PatientRightsAdvocate.org found that only 49.4% of hospitals fully complied with the transparency mandate.

Healthcare providers were encouraged by the Federal Trade Commission to conduct comprehensive reviews of their current price transparency practices and take corrective action swiftly. Ferguson stated that the regulator has already opened price transparency law enforcement investigations against hospitals and intends to pursue legal remedies until pricing transparency becomes the universal norm across the healthcare sector.