CMS' 2019 price transparency requirement spurred a lot of questions from our members, who were concerned about both compliance and whether or not public chargemasters would actually help patients, or just confuse the already muddy health care cost waters. RCAC continues to monitor the impact of the requirement and how it evolves.

We recently attended The Price of Good Health: Health Policies & Politics in the 116th Congress, a panel event hosted by the Council for Affordable Health Coverage. Portions of the panel focused on the CMS requirement, and several policymakers expressed frustration with the proliferation of electronic chargemasters in lieu of true hospital price transparency. Here are our key takeaways after listening to their conversation: