Released by the Florida Hospital Association …
The Florida Hospital Association President Bruce Rueben has issued the following statement regarding the Agency for Health Care Administration’s Florida Health PriceFinder Web site:
“The Florida Hospital Association (FHA) is committed to price transparency – that’s why we supported House Bill 1175 in 2016 and launched MissiontoCare.org that same year. Available every day for the last three years, MissiontoCare.org provides individual hospital price and quality information in an easy-to-use, searchable format. We ensure the reliability of the information by having hospitals verify the data to ensure accuracy. This is a fundamental step to make sure the public can trust the information.
So, we are surprised that the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) abandoned its longstanding practice of having hospitals review their pricing data before it’s publicly shared to ensure accuracy. Since AHCA did not verify the data with hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, its validity is unknown. Upon initial review, it appears the website does not accurately display all health care services, such as maternity care, cardiac and orthopedic procedures, that are offered in communities across Florida. To ensure consumers have access to reliable information, all inaccurate data must be immediately corrected and publicly shared.”