The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued its first fines for failure to comply with federal price transparency rules that took effect in January 2021.

CMS previously issued warning notices to Northside Hospital Atlanta and Northside Hospital Cherokee, and each submitted a corrective action plan. Despite these corrective action plans, CMS found that both hospitals were still noncompliant with the rules. Neither hospital posted a comprehensive list of standard charges: Northside Hospital Cherokee failed to make available a consumer-friendly list of 300 shoppable services, and Northside Atlanta Hospital told CMS that patients should call or email for price estimates. CMS fined the hospitals almost $1.1 million.