PatientRightsAdvocate.org’s Latest Report Found 51% of Hospitals Flout the Law

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) released its latest Hospital Price Transparency Report, which found the majority of hospitals are still failing to comply with the federal rule that went into effect more than five years ago requiring all hospitals to publicly post all prices online.

PRA found that just under half (49%) of the 2,000 hospitals it reviewed were complying with the rule, up from 21% in its previous report. Only 18% of hospitals surveyed publish dollar-and-cents prices for at least half of the items and services in their price data file. Many hospital-published algorithms and formulas require access to additional information before a price can be calculated and used by patients. In most of the cases reviewed by PRA, no additional information was provided.

The improvement in rule compliance from 21% to 49% is largely due to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ extensive updates to its GitHub specifications, FAQs, and other communications via webinars, email and GitHub. This work has allowed hospitals to improve their compliance with price transparency file format standardization and file access requirements. CMS in June sent warning letters to more than 500 hospitals, bringing specific noncompliance issues to their attention. This increase in enforcement activity has resulted in 28 hospitals fined, up from only 15 hospitals fined at the time of PRA’s last compliance report.

“CMS has made progress enforcing its hospital transparency rules, but this report shows that most hospitals still owe patients clear, usable dollars-and-cents prices they can look up before receiving care,” said Cynthia Fisher, founder and chair of PatientRightsAdvocate.org. “Too many patients are still being denied the real, upfront prices they need to shop for affordable care and protect themselves from overcharges.”

The bipartisan “Patients Deserve Price Tags Act” approved by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions by a vote of 21-1 in July, would require hospitals as well as clinical laboratories, imaging providers, and ambulatory surgical centers to post dollar-and-cents prices for both cash and health plan negotiated rates and disclose any formulas, algorithms, schedules, contractual methodologies, or other information necessary to calculate such prices.

“When patients have access to real dollar-and-cents prices, they can shop as informed consumers, spot wide price variation, and be protected from overcharges,” said Fisher. “We commend the Trump Administration and Congress for their continued efforts to make real prices available to every patient, employer, union, and taxpayer, and look forward to the day when clear, usable prices will be the standard nationwide.”

About PatientRightsAdvocate.org

PatientRightsAdvocate.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on ushering in systemwide healthcare price transparency. Through advocacy, testimony, media, legal research and grassroots campaigns, the organization seeks actual, upfront healthcare prices that will greatly lower costs through a functional, competitive healthcare marketplace.

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SOURCE Patient Rights Advocate