Cloudy Transparency: Hospitals Are Posting Prices Online, But Consumers See it as "Gibberish"

​The government is requiring hospitals to post prices for all their services, but consumers are not finding the information useful, meaningful, or understandable, according to a January 13, 2019, article in the New York Times. For example, the article said, one hospital charges $42,569 for a cardiology procure listed as "HC PTC CLOS PAT DUCT ART." Another hospital tells consumers that an "Embolza Protect 5.5" costs $9,818. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) discussed the new federal rule (see p. 2135), which went into effect on January 1, 2019, and comments made about it. The rule was designed to increase transparency and allow consumers to make better-educated decisions.