From Bloomberg Law
The Trump administration can keep its rule requiring hospitals to disclose the prices they privately negotiate with insurance companies, a federal district court held.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Tuesday rejected hospital industry groups’ claims that the Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule that was arbitrary and capricious, exceeded its rulemaking authority, and violated the First Amendment by mandating speech that fails to directly advance a substantial government interest.
The court instead granted the Trump administration’s motion for summary judgment. It upheld the rule, which is a policy the administration has been pushing in an effort to shine a light on hospital pricing.
The challenge by four of the nation’s leading health-care industry groups, including the American Hospital Association, and three hospitals centered on how the agency defined standard charges that a hospital must list publicly.