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Hospital prices for the same emergency care vary up to 16X
Hospitals' "trauma activation fees" are unregulated and extremely variable.
Since 2021, federal law has required hospitals to publicly post their prices, allowing Americans to easily anticipate costs and shop around for affordable care—as they would for any other marketed service or product. A 2023 KFF analysis on compliance found that the pricing information hospitals provided is "messy, inconsistent, and confusing, making it challenging, if not impossible, for patients or researchers to use them for their intended purpose." "The unexpected and pressing nature of trauma means patients are sent to the closest appropriate hospital and unable to compare prices as they do with nonemergency and shoppable medical services," the authors wrote.
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