• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
CommentaryHospitals

15 million Americans are about to be thrown off Medicaid rolls–and fall victim to extortionate hospital pricing

By
Cynthia A. Fisher
Cynthia A. Fisher
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Cynthia A. Fisher
Cynthia A. Fisher
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 12, 2023, 5:57 AM ET
A new study shows less than one in four hospitals are transparently publishing their prices.
A new study shows less than one in four hospitals are transparently publishing their prices.Getty Images

The predatory American healthcare system is about to encounter new prey in the form of millions of families thrown off Medicaid rolls.

Medicaid participation has swelled by approximately 30% to nearly 100 million Americans due to the March 2020 COVID-19 federal relief package that prevented states from kicking ineligible recipients off the program. On Mar. 31, that coverage protection came to an end.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 15 million people will lose their Medicaid coverage as states restart their eligibility checks. The most vulnerable Americans will suddenly have to contend with arguably the most broken aspect of American society.

Health care price transparency can lower the outrageous cost of care and coverage for these ex-Medicaid recipients looking for affordable treatments and health plans to maintain access to care. Actual, upfront prices can give them financial peace of mind that routine care won’t result in financial ruin.

Price transparency can defeat the notoriously overcharging American healthcare cartel that bankrupts ordinary Americans by blinding them to prices–then blindsiding them with bills they often never would have agreed to if prices were known upfront. 

As a result of this opaque dynamic that exists nowhere else in the economy, hospitals have a blank check to price gouge. According to research by Johns Hopkins University, hospitals charge an average of seven times their cost of care.

A federal hospital price transparency rule that took effect on Jan. 1, 2021 requires hospitals to post their actual prices online, including discounted cash and all health insurance rates by plan.

Unfortunately, the implementation of the new rule has been marred by widespread hospital noncompliance. According to a recent study by PatientRightsAdvocate.org, only 24.5% of hospitals are fully following it by providing complete and clear price information needed to comparison shop for health care.

The Biden administration can use the occasion of Medicaid enrollees being thrown onto the unaffordable private healthcare market to commit to robust enforcement of the rule. Doing so can arm these low-income, disproportionately minority Americans with actionable price information to lower their costs of care and coverage through choice and competition.

So far, the Department of Health and Human Services has only issued fines on two hospitals out of the thousands that are noncomplaint. Yet even this meager response shows the power of enforcement. These two hospitals quickly became compliant and, to date, publish exemplary price files. The administration can boost compliance by extending the $2 million financial penalty to all hospitals not posting their prices.

When all hospitals post their actual prices, tech innovators can aggregate them in easy-to-use web applications like Kayak or Expedia. Shopping for care can then resemble browsing for flights or hotels, ushering in the kind of fierce competition that drives down prices.

Without action, this health care system will devastate former Medicaid recipients. Yet robust price transparency can empower them to avoid healthcare overcharging, fight overbilling, and find affordable alternatives.

When real prices are known, healthcare consumers can see the well-documented widespread price variations for the same care, even at the same hospital. A recent study in Nature finds that the cash price of a prostatectomy varies nationwide from $1,476 to $47,445. With price transparency, no American–and certainly no one on a fixed income–will pay 32 times more than their neighbor for the same care.

Robust price transparency can generate a healthcare revolution that empowers all American consumers to control their health and wealth. It can allow the 15 million Americans who are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage to maintain access to treatment–without fear of being devoured by the American healthcare beast.

Cynthia A. Fisher is the founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

More must-read commentary published by Fortune:

  • A recession in 2023 is now inevitable. Layoffs in tech and finance will spread to other sectors
  • Energy analysts have been making gaseous calls since Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s time to clear away the smoke of economic groupthink
  • I am a Starbucks barista who doesn’t qualify for all the wonderful benefits you keep hearing about. We want the ‘different kind of company’ that Howard Schultz promised but failed to deliver
  • The average NFL owner is 75–and not rich enough to hang onto their team
About the Author
By Cynthia A. Fisher
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

Digital sovereignty isn’t the same thing as digital isolation. Asia’s governments should be careful
Commentarydata sovereignty
Digital sovereignty isn’t the same thing as digital isolation. Asia’s governments should be careful
By Leonard LimJune 10, 2026
2 hours ago
tim
CommentaryAirline industry
Merlin CTO: autonomy can rebuild the foundation of aviation — and national security
By Tim BurnsJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
dewar
CommentaryLeadership
I founded McKinsey’s CEO practice: Here’s why operational excellence is a liability right now
By Carolyn DewarJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
250
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America turns 250. Its greatest innovation was never a product — it was a system that let anyone build one
By Keith KrachJune 7, 2026
3 days ago
sabes
CommentaryRetirement
Retiring at 62 costs the average American $250,000. Here’s the math (and the neuroscience) that explain why
By Jon SabesJune 7, 2026
4 days ago
da
CommentaryIPOs
The short seller’s argument nobody on the coming mega IPO roadshow wants you to make
By Bhaskar ChakravortiJune 7, 2026
4 days ago

Most Popular

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
Economy
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
By Nick LichtenbergJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Wall Street dumped nearly $1 trillion in tech stocks by midday—then clawed it back and bought peanut butter and paint
Investing
Wall Street dumped nearly $1 trillion in tech stocks by midday—then clawed it back and bought peanut butter and paint
By Eva RoytburgJune 9, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.