Please Describe the Procedure, Not the Invoice
The Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to 24 large healthcare services companies reminding them that patients are entitled to timely, accurate and complete pricing information. The FTC says failing to provide it may be an unfair or deceptive practice.
This is a remarkable reminder to have to issue. Healthcare is one of the few industries where a consumer can schedule a routine service, ask what it costs, and receive an answer that sounds like a weather forecast written by a lawyer.
The Price Is Whatever Survives the Billing Department
The FTC says healthcare companies may mislead patients when they omit physician or facility fees, disclose only part of an expected course of care, or provide information too late for patients to compare providers. Compliance with federal hospital price-transparency rules is not automatically a safe harbor from FTC Act liability.
In ordinary shopping, a price is usually displayed before the purchase. In healthcare, the price can appear later as a surprise sequel starring three billing departments and a facility fee nobody remembers ordering.
The Bottom Line
The FTC did not require hospitals to make care cheap. It asked them to make the bill less mysterious. That is apparently aggressive enough to require 24 warning letters and a reminder that “we’ll tell you later” is not a pricing system.
Source
Federal Trade Commission: Warning letters to healthcare companies about deceptive pricing practices