(WYMT) – Leaders at two eastern Kentucky hospitals are responding to an Associated Press report about the Trump administration warning hundreds of hospitals nationwide to provide more price information or face fines.
The administration argued the lack of disclosure is keeping healthcare costs higher than they should be.
Pikeville Medical Center and Hazard ARH were on the list.
Byron Gabbard, Chief Financial Officer for Appalachian Regional Healthcare, sent this response to WYMT:
“ARH was recently notified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding technical issues related to certain pricing transparency files posted on our website for the Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center. The pricing information referenced in the CMS notice was available on our website at the time of the review as well as pricing information for all ARH hospital locations in Kentucky and West Virginia. The issues identified by CMS in relation to the Hazard ARH report involved technical aspects of how certain files were presented and formatted, and not the absence of pricing information itself. Upon becoming aware of the issues, we corrected the files and have taken this as an opportunity to strengthen how this information is presented and accessible to the public. ARH has consistently maintained pricing transparency information on its website for many years and remains committed to remaining in compliance with federal transparency requirements and providing patients with access to information about the cost of care.”
Pikeville Medical Center officials told WYMT there was a technical problem with a broken URL and they immediately identified and corrected the issue.
“Pikeville Medical Center is fully committed to price transparency and adheres to all state and federal transparency requirements,” said Michelle Hagy, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at PMC. “This was an unfortunate technical website issue, not a lack of compliance, and it was resolved immediately after we received notification. Our pricing information has been and remains publicly accessible at pmcky.org, as required.