The request for information is included in CMS‘s proposed rule for the 2027 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System, published July 7. It is an information-gathering step, not a final rule or an immediate change to hospital price-transparency requirements.

For patients, the immediate effect is limited. Hospitals do not have to adopt the possible changes simply because CMS is seeking comments. The agency must review the feedback before deciding whether to issue future proposed or final requirements.

What CMS is asking about

Since January 1, 2021, hospitals operating in the United States have been required to publish pricing information online in two ways: a comprehensive machine-readable file covering hospital items and services, and a consumer-friendly display of prices for shoppable services.

The machine-readable file is intended to help employers, insurers, researchers and other users analyze hospital prices electronically. CMS is asking whether those files should become more standardized, complete and comparable, including through clearer reporting of information in free-text fields.

The agency specifically wants feedback on complicated contract arrangements such as outlier payments, stop-loss provisions, rate tiering and carve-outs. These terms can affect how negotiated rates are calculated or applied, making it harder to determine what a posted amount represents and to compare one hospital’s information with another’s.

CMS is also seeking feedback on consumer-facing displays. The agency is asking whether to update the required list of shoppable services, whether hospitals should provide more consistent underlying data, and whether internet-based price-estimator tools should continue to qualify for deemed compliance.

Another issue is what a displayed price includes. CMS is seeking input on clearer explanations of bundled services, facility and professional charges, and ancillary services that may be billed with a scheduled procedure.

Why the request comes amid tougher enforcement

CMS says enforcement of new and updated 2026 hospital price-transparency requirements began April 1, 2026. The agency audits a sample of hospitals and investigates complaints, and hospitals can face civil monetary penalties for noncompliance.

The Associated Press reported that more than 500 hospitals received warning letters or requests for corrective plans related to inadequate price disclosures. AP also reported that penalties can reach as high as $2 million annually for each recipient that fails to create a required plan to post clear pricing data.

The AP figure should not be read as proof that every hospital received the same warning, committed the same violation or faces the same penalty. CMS’s request for information is separate from any individual enforcement action.

What patients can learn today

Patients can already look for a hospital’s machine-readable file and consumer-friendly display of shoppable services. Those tools may help with early comparison shopping, but a posted negotiated rate is not necessarily a patient’s final bill or out-of-pocket responsibility.

Before relying on a listed price, patients should confirm the exact service, whether facility, physician and ancillary charges are included, whether the provider is in network, and how the estimate interacts with the plan’s deductible and coinsurance.

Price information also does not by itself provide a complete comparison of quality, medical necessity or treatment outcomes. Clearer displays could make costs easier to evaluate, but price transparency alone does not guarantee lower hospital prices or savings for every patient.

How to submit a comment

Comments may be submitted through the CMS-2026-2344 docket on Regulations.gov before August 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Patients, employers, insurers, hospitals, researchers and patient advocates can address the practical problems they encounter with current disclosures.

The most consequential future changes could involve more consistent machine-readable files, clearer dollar amounts and better explanations of what bundled prices include. For now, CMS is asking what those requirements should look like; hospitals’ existing obligations remain in place while the agency considers the responses.

Sources

• CMS: Hospital Price Transparency
• Federal Register: Hospital Price Transparency Request for Information
• Regulations.gov: CMS-2026-2344
• Associated Press: Hospitals warned over pricing information