December 04, 2019 / MICHAEL BRADY
Hospitals sued HHS on Wednesday over a new rule that would force them to disclose the rates they negotiate with insurers.
The complaint alleges HHS doesn’t have the legal authority to require hospitals to publicly disclose the prices that commercial health insurers and hospitals negotiate with each other. The lawsuit also claims that the mandate violates the First Amendment rights of hospitals and health insurers.
The Trump administration has shown a willingness to go to court over its healthcare regulatory agenda. The courts have recently ruled against the administration on its policies for site-neutral payments, 340B drug payments and drug price disclosure in direct-to-consumer TV ads.
“I think they were fully expecting that they would have to defend (the rule) in court,” said Melinda Hatton, general counsel for the American Hospital Association. “They’re no strangers to lawsuits over there.”
The AHA, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Children’s Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals are suing the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
