Lafayette Reporter

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana has reintroduced legislation aimed at enforcing transparency in hospital pricing. The Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act seeks to impose stricter penalties on hospitals that fail to disclose the costs of their services and items to patients.

Kennedy emphasized the importance of price transparency, stating, “It’s unfair for hospitals to keep the costs of their services hidden from patients. My Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act would make sure that health care providers make their prices publicly available and understandable for Americans seeking care.”

The act builds upon the Trump administration’s Hospital Price Transparency Rule, which has been in effect since January 2021. This rule mandates that hospitals provide a public list of charges for their items and services in a manner accessible to consumers. However, a study conducted in November 2024 revealed that only 21% of 2,000 surveyed hospitals were fully compliant with these requirements.

Under current regulations by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), non-compliant hospitals face penalties based on their size: $300 per day for those with up to 30 beds, between $310 and $5,500 per day for those with 31 to 550 beds, and $5,500 per day for larger facilities.

The proposed legislation aims to double these penalties. Hospitals with up to 30 beds would incur fines of $600 per day; those with 31 to 550 beds would face fines ranging from $620 to $11,000 daily; and institutions with more than 550 beds would be fined $11,000 per day. Additionally, all hospitals would be required to comply within six months following the law's enactment.

Further provisions include prohibiting the use of webpage coding techniques by hospitals to obscure information on their websites. Non-compliant hospitals would have a 60-day window post-notice to settle monetary penalties. The CMS would also be required to publicly list non-compliant institutions.

Kennedy originally introduced this bill in 2022. The full text of the Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act is available online.