SPRINGFIELD, IL (Chambana Today) – PatientRightsAdvocate.org released its seventh Semi-Annual Hospital Price Transparency report, which indicated a concerning trend in Illinois hospitals.

The report stated that only 23% of Illinois hospitals are complying with the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule which dropped from 39% in February. The rule, established nearly four years ago, requires hospitals to disclose their negotiated rates and discounted cash prices to promote price transparency in healthcare. A worrying decrease in compliance rates have been apparent despite public support for healthcare price transparency.

Recent changes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lowered the transparency standards and have allowed hospitals to omit actual dollar-and-cents prices.

Key Findings:

  • Only 15 out of 65 Illinois hospitals reviewed were fully compliant (23%).
  • Nationwide, only 421 hospitals (21.1%) were fully compliant.
  • A mere 335 hospitals (16.8%) provided sufficient pricing data in actual dollars and cents.
  • Only 133 hospitals (6.7%) met both full compliance and price sufficiency criteria.
  • The majority of hospitals (78.9%) were found in total noncompliance, failing to adhere to CMS guidelines and missing significant pricing data.

“Unfortunately, our Seventh Hospital Price Transparency Compliance Report reveals that after nearly four years, the overwhelming majority of hospitals reviewed are still not complying with the rule requiring them to publish their discounted cash prices and all negotiated rates. By keeping their prices hidden, hospitals continue to block American consumers from their right to compare prices and protect themselves from overcharges. On behalf of all American healthcare consumers, PatientRightsAdvocate.org strongly urges policymakers to strengthen and enforce the hospital price transparency rule immediately,” expressed PRA Founder and Chairman Cynthia Fisher.

Compliance rates varied among hospital systems:

  • 78% of hospitals owned by Christus Health were fully compliant.
  • 58% of hospitals owned by Baylor Scott & White were fully compliant.
  • 56% of hospitals owned by HCA Healthcare were fully compliant, but none met the price sufficiency rating.
  • Hospital systems such as Ascension, AdventHealth, and Kaiser Permanente showed zero compliance.

Compliant Illinois Hospitals:

  • Advocate Christ Medical Center, Advocate Health
  • Advocate Condell Medical Center, Advocate Health
  • Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Advocate Health
  • Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Advocate Health
  • Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Advocate Health
  • Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Advocate Health
  • Advocate Sherman Hospital, Advocate Health
  • Advocate South Suburban Hospital, Advocate Health
  • Advocate Trinity Hospital, Advocate Health
  • Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern Medicine
  • Carle Foundation Hospital, Carle Health
  • Carle Health Methodist Hospital, Carle Health
  • Memorial Hospital, BJC Health System
  • UnityPoint Health Trinity Rock Island, UnityPoint Health
  • UnityPoint Trinity Moline, UnityPoint Health

Noncompliant Illinois Hospitals:

  • Alton Memorial Hospital, BJC Health System
  • Ascension Alexian Brothers, Ascension
  • Ascension Mercy, Ascension
  • Ascension Resurrection, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Alexius, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Elizabeth, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Francis, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Joseph – Chicago, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Joseph – Elgin, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Mary – Chicago, Ascension
  • Ascension Saint Mary – Kankakee, Ascension
  • Blessing Hospital, Blessing Health System
  • Community First Medical Center, Community First Healthcare of Illinois
  • Edward Hospital – Main Campus, Edward-Elmhurst Health
  • Elmhurst Hospital, Edward-Elmhurst Health
  • Evanston Hospital, Northshore University Health System
  • Franciscan Health Olympia Fields, Franciscan Health
  • Gateway Regional Medical Center, Quorum Health Corporation
  • Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Trinity Health
  • HSHS St Johns Hospital, Hospital Sisters Health System
  • HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital, Hospital Sisters Health System
  • Insight Hospital & Medical Center Chicago, INSIGHT Chicago
  • John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, Cook County
  • Loretto Hospital, Chicago Healthcare
  • Loyola University Medical Center, Trinity Health
  • MacNeal Hospital, Trinity Health
  • Memorial Hospital, UnityPoint Health
  • Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Health System
  • Northwest Community Healthcare/Hospital, Northshore University Health System
  • Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, Northwestern Medicine
  • Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, Northwestern Medicine
  • Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern Medicine
  • OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, OSF HealthCare
  • Riverside Medical Center, Riverside Healthcare
  • Rush University Medical Center, Rush Health
  • Silver Cross Hospital, Silver Cross Health System
  • Springfield Memorial Hospital, Memorial Health
  • SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital – Mt. Vernon, SSM Health
  • SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Centralia, SSM Health
  • St Bernard Hospital, Catholic Health International
  • Swedish Hospital, Endeavor Health
  • The University of Chicago Medical Center, UChicago Medicine
  • UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook, AdventHealth
  • UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Glenoaks, AdventHealth
  • UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale, AdventHealth
  • UChicago Medicine AdventHealth La Grange, AdventHealth
  • UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial, UChicago Medicine
  • University of Illinois Hospital, UI Health
  • UW Health Swedish American Hospital, UW Health