On May 22, 2025, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Treasury, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced major advancements in healthcare price transparency. These regulatory enhancements directly impact hospitals, insurers, employers, and healthcare providers nationwide.

The compliance deadline of January 1, 2025, required hospitals to:

• Provide a machine-readable file (MRF) with actual, not estimated, prices for all hospital items and services.
• Display at least 300 shoppable services in a consumer-friendly format.
• Include new standardized data elements such as estimated allowed amounts, drug unit and type of measurement, and billing code modifiers.
• Affirm the accuracy and completeness of all posted data in a signed statement.

These requirements are part of CMS’s broader effort to improve accessibility, accuracy, and consistency in healthcare pricing.

Additionally, the Departments issued Requests for Information (RFIs) to solicit feedback on improving transparency practices—especially regarding prescription drug machine-readable files and the completeness of hospital pricing data. These actions demonstrate the agencies’ intention to continue tightening compliance expectations.

Penalties for non-compliance have substantially increased, from approximately $100,000 per hospital to over $2 million annually for large hospitals as of 2022. This underscores the importance of prompt and complete compliance.

These federal actions reinforce ACA mandates around preventive services, mental health parity, and transparency in cost-sharing, creating a unified framework for consumer protection and informed healthcare decision-making.