Myth Buster: Hospital charge data is hidden from patients

FACT: In a majority of states, hospital charge data is accessible to consumers in at least one way.

 

Hospital charge data is available to consumers in a number of different ways. Primarily, state laws govern the disclosure of certain hospital charge data, such as required disclosure of the most common diagnoses, disclosure of charge information upon a patient’s request, or required disclosure or posting of the hospital’s “charge master." To learn more about the ways in which states give patients access to charge data, as well as how recent federal developments have increased transparency of such information, read our Myth Buster.