Hospitals are required by federal law to post the costs of their services—but a new report says over half of Pennsylvania hospitals are falling short on compliance.

Some state lawmakers are making a bipartisan push to enforce transparency.

Healthcare costs are continuing to skyrocket. Even with insurance, patients are on the hook for more of their medical bills. In most industries, a consumer could compare prices to find savings—but hospital billing is notoriously convoluted.

“When patients go to access health care, especially when they are in hospitals, they have no idea of the cost of things,” said Rep. Tarik Khan, a Philadelphia Democrat who is also a registered nurse practitioner.

Federal regulation has attempted to address the issue. Rules published in 2021 require hospitals to list the cost of services, and any fees associated with the service, on a public website where consumers can access data.

“What we have been seeing over the past couple of years, is that Pennsylvania hospitals are not complying,” said Patrick Keenan, the director of policy at the Pennsylvania Health Access Network— an organization focused on patient advocacy in healthcare.

In a report published today, the network says only 41% of hospitals in the state are complying with federal pricing transparency rules.

The report looks at 184 hospitals in Pennsylvania.

 

Keenan says knowing the cost of services before getting care can be critical to finding savings—with or without insurance.

“You see a lot of families that, you know, based on their individual insurance plan— it might actually even be cheaper for them to not use their insurance and pay cash for certain kinds of care,” Keenan said.

Republican Sen. Dawn Keefer and Rep. Khan have introduced state legislation to clarify and enforce the federal rules.

“We're just saying, making some of those guidelines more clear,” Keefer said. “Like readable formats, right? Consumer friendly.”

HB1469 and SB752 say if hospitals don’t comply, they risk losing state funds along with other penalties. In turn, hospitals will get warnings with time to address concerns before any penatlies go into effect. Hospitals can also dispute compliance claims.

Both Keefer and Khan say price transparency is a first step in reducing healthcare costs.