New Report Shows Many TN Hospitals Not Following Federal Pricing Laws
Image: TriStar Horizon Medical Center in Dickson, TN Image Credit: TriStar Health
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
A recently released report shows that many Tennessee hospitals are not following a federal law that makes it mandatory for them to notify the public of the actual cost of a hospital stay.
The report, released by the non-profit Patient Rights Advocate group, notes that only 36% of hospitals are actually adhering to the law, and only half of the hospitals in the state are following the regulation.
“Unfortunately, our findings show that the majority of hospitals across the country are still failing to comply with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule,” stated PRA founder and chairman Cynthia Fisher. “When hospitals hide behind estimates or don’t post all real prices, they are leaving consumers in the dark. Making all actual prices available upfront will empower patients, employers, and unions to choose the best care at prices they know they can afford, and protect all Americans from over charges, errors, and fraud.”
Those pushing for price transparency also say that it could help to lower the cost of health care because individuals would have a greater means of shopping around for the most affordable care.
According to PRA’s report, none of the hospitals owned by HCA Healthcare out of Nashville has been found to be compliant with the law. This includes health care centers in the TriStar brand.
Anna-Lee Cockrill, a spokeswoman for TriStar, argues that PRA does not have the authority to state whether the system is compliant or not and says that determination can only come from the federal government.
“Our hospitals implemented the federal requirements in January 2021,” Cockrill stated. “Since then, our hospital websites have included a consumer-friendly Patient Payment Estimator tool that provides relevant information to help patients understand what their out-of-pocket responsibility may be for hospital care, including those that are uninsured.”
Additionally, several of the Ascension Saint Thomas hospitals were found to be out of compliance as well as Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Showing up on the list as being fully compliant with the federal transparency rules are the following hospitals:
Baptist Collierville, Baptist Memorial Hospital – Caroll County, Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis, Baptist Memorial Hospital – Tipton, Baptist Memorial Hospital – Union City, Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women, Bristol Regional Medical Center, CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga, CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson, Erlanger Baroness Hospital, Holston Valley Medical Center, Indian Path Community Hospital, Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Johnson City Medical Center, Methodist University Hospital, Riverview Regional Medical Center, Southern Tennessee Regional Health System – Lawrenceburg, Southern Tennessee Regional Health System – Pulaski, Southern Tennessee Regional Health System – Sewanee, Southern Tennessee Regional Health System – Winchester, Starr Regional Medical Center Athens, Sumner Regional Medical Center, Tennova – LaFollette Medical Center, Tennova – Newport Medical Center, Tennova – North Knoxville Medical Center, Tennova Healthcare – Cleveland, Tennova Healthcare Clarksville, Tennova -Turkey Creek Medical Center, Trousdale Medical Center, University of Tennessee Medical Center, and West Tennessee Healthcare Jackson – Madison County General Hospital.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
Tri Star Summit is the worst Hospital in the Mid-State area.
Simple enough solution. If there is proof the law is being broken, lock up the Administrators, let them post bond but plaster their names all over, be sure to use that famous term, alleged, then if that doesn’t get compliance, arrest the next tier of Administrators and keep going until there is compliance.