Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Chief Acknowledges Flaws In Hospital Price Transparency Requirements But Says They're An 'Important First Step'
CMS Administrator Seema Verma said Thursday that the agency is working to improve a new rule requiring hospitals to post chargemaster prices on their websites after experts said the data wouldn't help consumers. Acknowledging that chargemaster prices aren't accurate out-of-pocket costs for insured patients, Verma maintained the requirement is an "important first step" to increase price transparency. She said the agency is "working toward" addressing the concerns but also said "there is no reason hospitals can't do more." (Castellucci, 1/10)
In other hospital news —
Community Health Systems generated $400 million in gross proceeds on hospital divestitures in 2018, less than half of its $1.3 billion target, leaders from the hospital chain said Wednesday. Thomas Aaron, the Franklin, Tenn.-based hospital chain's CFO, confirmed before an audience at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday afternoon that the company fell short of its 2018 goal by about $900 million. The hospital chain had repeated the goal on multiple occasions last year, including in its third quarter results. (Bannow, 1/10)
