WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission has warned 24 of the nation’s largest healthcare services companies that withholding or misrepresenting medical prices could violate federal consumer protection law, extending regulatory scrutiny beyond existing hospital price transparency requirements.
FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters urging the companies to review their pricing practices and correct potentially misleading disclosures, particularly for routine and non-emergency procedures that patients schedule in advance.
The warnings establish that compliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services price transparency rules does not shield healthcare providers from liability under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
The distinction exposes healthcare companies to potential FTC enforcement even when they satisfy applicable CMS disclosure requirements.
According to the FTC, patients may be misled when providers fail to disclose prices before treatment or provide estimates that exclude significant charges, including physician and facility fees.
A disclosure may also be deceptive if it covers only part of an expected course of treatment, creating the impression that patients have received a complete estimate of their financial obligations.
“Price is a material term,” the letters state, emphasizing that healthcare providers may need to make clear and conspicuous disclosures before consumers commit to services.
The FTC’s concerns extend to the timing of disclosures. For scheduled procedures, patients who receive pricing information too late to evaluate alternatives may be unable to compare providers or make informed financial decisions.
The agency also identified potential violations under the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair practices.
Under that standard, a practice may be unfair when it causes or is likely to cause substantial consumer injury that patients cannot reasonably avoid and that is not outweighed by benefits to consumers or competition.
The letters argue that incomplete or inaccurate pricing information can undermine competition by preventing patients from comparing the costs of equivalent medical services across facilities.
Providers that disclose prices accurately may also face a competitive disadvantage when competing facilities obscure their charges, according to the FTC.
The agency’s position places particular emphasis on information reasonably available to healthcare providers before scheduled treatment, rather than circumstances in which costs cannot be determined in advance.
Ferguson urged the recipients to conduct comprehensive reviews of their price disclosure practices and make prompt corrections where necessary.
The letters serve as regulatory warnings rather than findings that the 24 companies violated federal law. The FTC did not identify individual violations or announce enforcement actions against the recipients in the information provided.
Support the local news that supports Chester County. MyChesCo delivers reliable, fact-based reporting and essential community resources—free for everyone. If you value that, click here to become a patron today.