Why Hospitals Resist Disclosing the Absolute Costs of Their Procedures

Why the proposed CMS penalties imposed on hospitals are destined for failure… Without trying to dissect the language embedded in the proposal such as ‘shoppable services’, ‘machine readable files’ or ‘limited set’ services, the following article focuses on the absurdity of these CMS civil monetary penalties. The authors performed a financial analysis of the three largest ‘for profit’ hospitals and demonstrate the absurdity of these minimalist penalties. First, the authors clarify the central problem that the Biden and future administrations face. Aging Baby Boomers will exceed 80 million demanding Medicare Services by year 2030. In fact, Medicare will require $1.54 Trillion to service these 80 million enrollees. Future Medicare financial obligations will only increase because its expenditures are driven by a variety of factors: demand for care, the complexity of medical services, high medical inflation, and increasingly longer life expectancies.