Key Highlights

• CMS’s hospital price transparency regulations are a “regulatory floor.” The letters describe these requirements as a “critical foundation” but caution that compliance “does not mean that a hospital has met its obligations under Section 5”—in other words, CMS rules “do not provide a safe harbor from liability under the FTC Act.”
• Omissions and incomplete disclosures may be deceptive. The FTC treats the price of healthcare services as a material term, such that clear and conspicuous disclosures are often necessary. Failing to disclose price may be deceptive if it is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably. Even disclosed prices may be deceptive if incomplete (e.g., if they omit physician or facility fees or cover only part of the expected care) because patients may believe they have been told the total cost. Inaccurate disclosures are likewise misleading.
• Opaque pricing may also be unfair and harm competition. The letters assert that incomplete, inaccurate, or untimely pricing prevents consumers from comparing providers—conduct the FTC views as unfair. Such practices, the letters contend, offer no countervailing benefit and undermine competition “by obscuring one of the most important dynamics of competition from consumers’ observation and comparison.”
• Hospital pricing is uniquely important. The letters explain that pricing transparency is “particularly critical in the hospital and healthcare setting.” Medical care is often among consumers’ largest costs, patients frequently must travel for in-person visits, and hospitals “can charge dramatically different prices for the same services.” This framing previews how the FTC may articulate consumer injury in any future enforcement action.
• The FTC is focused on vulnerable populations. The letters state that, in exercising its Section 5 authority, the FTC is “particularly focused on protecting vulnerable populations, including rural Americans, seniors, and veterans, many of whom lack access to affordable and transparent healthcare.” Rural health systems and providers serving large Medicare or veteran populations may therefore warrant particular attention to their pricing disclosures.
• Investigations are already underway. At an HHS price transparency event, Chairman Ferguson stated: “Let me be clear: these letters are a warning.” Healthcare providers, he continued, “must disclose their prices to consumers and must do so starting today. If they do not, then the FTC will take them to court.” He added that the FTC has already opened price transparency investigations against hospitals.
• The FTC urges all providers to review their practices. Chairman Ferguson called on recipients—and “all healthcare-service providers in the United States”—to conduct a comprehensive review of their price-transparency practices and take corrective action swiftly as needed. The letters note they do not reflect a particularized assessment of any recipient’s practices; the FTC “will continue to monitor the healthcare marketplace and take enforcement action as warranted.”

Regulatory Backdrop

The letters situate the FTC’s position within the Administration’s broader price transparency agenda. They cite Executive Order 13877 (2019), which led to the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 C.F.R. pt. 180), effective January 1, 2021, and since strengthened—most recently in the CY 2026 Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule. The letters also cite Executive Order 14221 (2025), directing agencies to require disclosure of actual prices rather than estimates. Finally, they reference the No Surprises Act’s requirement that providers and facilities furnish good-faith estimates to uninsured and self-pay patients for scheduled services.

The letters arrived the same day that HHS, Labor, and Treasury finalized updates to the Transparency in Coverage rules for health plans and insurers. Among other things, the updated rules strengthen accountability for data accuracy, shift reporting from monthly to quarterly, and require plans to provide personalized cost-sharing information by phone. Separately, CMS began enforcing its expanded hospital requirements on April 1, 2026, issuing warning notices or corrective action plan requests to more than 500 hospitals between April and early June.

Looking Ahead

The letters signal that the FTC intends to act as a second, independent enforcer of healthcare price transparency, layering Section 5 deception and unfairness theories on top of CMS’s regulatory regime. A hospital fully compliant with CMS’s public disclosure requirements may still face FTC scrutiny if the pricing information it provides to patients is incomplete, inaccurate, or delivered too late to allow comparison shopping. Providers—not just letter recipients—may wish to revisit their price disclosure practices, including whether estimates capture all components of care (such as professional and facility fees) and whether quoted prices match amounts actually billed. Chairman Ferguson’s statement that investigations are already open suggests the letters are a prelude to enforcement rather than a substitute for it.