Colorado Hospitals Lacking in Cost Transparency

More than two years ago a federal law was enacted that mandated the nation’s hospitals to provide clear and easily accessible online pricing information about what various procedures and treatments would cost a patient. The goal was to allow patients to see and understand actual costs up front in order to better research their care decisions and, in many cases, save substantial amounts of money. According to a nonprofit called PatientsRightsAdvocate.org (PRA), none of Colorado’s 32 largest hospitals’ websites have fully complied with the federal law’s stipulations. PRA cited a range of noncompliance issues, a key one being hospitals not clearly showing “negotiated rates,” which is what is paid by most insurers and the government. Other rates that should be shown are standard charges, known as “chargemaster” prices (akin to a sticker price prior to any negotiating), and discounted rates for cash payment. A bill has been introduced in the Colorado legislature that would require hospitals to regularly report to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which would monitor compliance with cost transparency. If the bill passes as drafted, it would go into effect in July of 2024.