Hospitals sue Trump administration over proposed price disclosure rule

Major hospital groups are suing the Trump administration over a proposed rule it announced last month that would require hospitals to disclose the prices of health services they provide. If finalized, hospitals would have to report online what they charge for common inpatient and outpatient services such as X-rays starting Jan. 1, 2021, and noncompliance could lead to a fine of up to $300 a day. In the new lawsuit, seven groups, including the American Hospital Association, are arguing that the new rule is “unlawful, several times over,” and that in issuing it, CMS overextended its authority. The groups also say that the rule would not accurately reflect what a patient’s actual out-of-pocket costs would be, since hospitals work with insurance companies to negotiate prices.