(a) General rules.
(1) A hospital must make public the standard charges identified in paragraphs (b)(3) through (6) of this section, for as many of the 70 CMS-specified shoppable services that are provided by the hospital, and as many additional hospital-selected shoppable services as is necessary for a combined total of at least 300 shoppable services.
(i) In selecting a shoppable service for purposes of this section, a hospital must consider the rate at which it provides and bills for that shoppable service.
(ii) If a hospital does not provide 300 shoppable services, the hospital must make public the information specified in paragraph (b) of this section for as many shoppable services as it provides.
(2) A hospital is deemed by CMS to meet the requirements of this section if the hospital maintains an internet-based price estimator tool which meets the following requirements.
(i) Provides estimates for as many of the 70 CMS-specified shoppable services that are provided by the hospital, and as many additional hospital-selected shoppable services as is necessary for a combined total of at least 300 shoppable services.
(ii) Allows healthcare consumers to, at the time they use the tool, obtain an estimate of the amount they will be obligated to pay the hospital for the shoppable service.
(iii) Is prominently displayed on the hospital's website and accessible to the public without charge and without having to register or establish a user account or password.
(b) Required data elements. A hospital must include, as applicable, all of the following corresponding data elements when displaying its standard charges (identified in paragraphs (b)(3) through (6) of this section) for its list of shoppable services selected under paragraph (a)(1) of this section:
(1) A plain-language description of each shoppable service.
(2) An indicator when one or more of the CMS-specified shoppable services are not offered by the hospital.
(3) The payer-specific negotiated charge that applies to each shoppable service (and to each ancillary service, as applicable). Each list of payer-specific negotiated charges must be clearly associated with the name of the third party payer and plan.
(4) The discounted cash price that applies to each shoppable service (and corresponding ancillary services, as applicable). If the hospital does not offer a discounted cash price for one or more shoppable services (or corresponding ancillary services), the hospital must list its undiscounted gross charge for the shoppable service (and corresponding ancillary services, as applicable).
(5) The de-identified minimum negotiated charge that applies to each shoppable service (and to each corresponding ancillary service, as applicable).
(6) The de-identified maximum negotiated charge that applies to each shoppable service (and to each corresponding ancillary service, as applicable).
(7) The location at which the shoppable service is provided, including whether the standard charges identified in paragraphs (b)(3) through (6) of this section for the shoppable service apply at that location to the provision of that shoppable service in the inpatient setting, the outpatient department setting, or both.
(8) Any primary code used by the hospital for purposes of accounting or billing for the shoppable service, including, as applicable, the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code, the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG), or other common service billing code.
(c) Format. A hospital has discretion to choose a format for making public the information described in paragraph (b) of this section online.
(d) Location and accessibility of online data.
(1) A hospital must select an appropriate publicly available internet location for purposes of making public the information described in paragraph (b) of this section.
(2) The information must be displayed in a prominent manner that identifies the hospital location with which the information is associated.
(3) The shoppable services information must be easily accessible, without barriers, including but not limited to ensuring the information is:
(i) Free of charge.
(ii) Accessible without having to register or establish a user account or password.
(iii) Accessible without having to submit personal identifying information (PII).
(iv) Searchable by service description, billing code, and payer.
(e) Frequency. The hospital must update the standard charge information described in paragraph (b) of this section at least once annually. The hospital must clearly indicate the date that the information was most recently updated.