Medicare will now enforce hospital price transparency rules it previously ignored

The US government is changing how Medicare pays hospitals and surgical centers for outpatient care. It also plans to tighten enforcement of rules requiring hospitals to publish their prices.

Hospitals have mostly ignored rules about publishing their prices. They faced few consequences. This proposed rule means the US government will now actually enforce those rules. This could force hospitals to compete on price. It also changes how hospitals get paid for outpatient services, which affects their revenue.