UPDATE: Naming Error Included DCH/Nolan In Federal Complaint
UPDATE: DCH Regional Medical Center and Nolan Hospital, a private long-term care facility located inside DCH, were included on a list of hospitals revealed by Associated Press (AP) as being in violation of the Trump Administration's Executive Order requiring hospitals to produce a basic price information transparency plan.
A response from DCH noted the inclusion of the medical center on the corrective action required list from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services resulted from a naming error that has since been corrected. The April notice's use of DCH Regional Medical Center instead of the legal DCH Healthcare Authority led to the misidentification. The issue was resolved on April 22nd. However, the list published by AP did not contain the correction.
DCH emphasizes they remain committed to compliance with the executive order.
According to Associated Press, which broke the story, 500 medical facilities nationwide, including 20 in Alabama received a letter warning of penalties as high as $2 million dollars for each year they fail to comply with a requirement to create a plan to post clear pricing data.
Two Birmingham hospitals, Grandview and St. Vincent's, which serve patients from West Alabama were among the ones in this state receiving the letter. More hospitals are expended to also receive the letters.
Most of the states with hospitals that have failed to comply with pricing transparency are controlled by GOP majorities such as Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas.
The plan being demanded is the result of a federal court ruling allowing the administration to require hospitals and insurers to disclose the actual prices for common tests and procedures. It is The White House's attempt to provide pricing information for patients, doctors and insurers.
Some experts point out the pricing data could end up being more confusing than informative because it can be complicated.
The pricing information demand is a result of promises made by Trump during his campaign for a second term in which he promised to make pricing more transparent.
The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce is scheduled to conduct a hearing next Wednesday on medical price transparency. Alabama 6th Congressional District Republican Gary Palmer is a member of the committee.
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