MASSDEVICE ON CALL — U.S. Medicare regulators want hospitals to open up about the prices they charge for their services. The agency issued a proposed order to require hospitals to publish price-lists, or make them available upon request.
The measure, prescribed by the Affordable Care Act, is the latest in a string of initiatives designed to increase healthcare transparency in the U.S. and give consumers the tools to make more informed choices about where they get their care.
CMS earlier this year released a trove of its physician payment data and last year released data on hospital payments.
Both releases prompted a string of analyses about the seemingly erratic variations in healthcare pricing, and a public price-sheet would likely to the same.
The new CMS proposal would also raise hospital reimbursements and introduce programs to reduce hospital-acquired infections, The Hill reported.
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