The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on Friday that a new rule will mandate that hospitals release a list of standard charges online to "encourage price transparency" and improve “public accessibility," The Hill reports.
Hospitals will have to update this information annually starting on January 1. The CMS also announced that it is looking into allowing “consumers to more easily access relevant healthcare data and compare providers."
"This is a small step towards providing our beneficiaries with price transparency, but our work in this area is only just beginning," CMS Administrator Seema Verma said last month . "Price transparency is core to patient empowerment and making sure American patients have the tools they need so they can make the best decisions for them and their families."