WASHINGTON — A federal rule requiring hospitals to post prices online took effect a year and a half ago, but spotty data and noncompliance have meant the rule has yet to live up to its promise of lowering health care costs, employers and researchers say.
Many hospitals still aren’t fully following the rule, and the federal government — despite threatening larger monetary penalties for noncompliance — still hasn’t issued any fines.
In all, thousands of hospitals are estimated to not be fully complying with a part of the rule requiring they post troves of data online that include information on cash prices for services, rates negotiated with payers, and other information that can be helpful to researchers and people and businesses paying for health care.
