Florida AG launches investigation into hospitals over price transparency laws

FIRST ON FOX: Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier has opened a formal investigation into Florida hospitals that could potentially be violating state law and federal transparency rules with predatory pricing practices. 

“President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again [MAHA] agenda requires that hospitals provide patients with transparent pricing,” Uthmeier said in a statement Friday. “My office is going to help the president deliver on his mandate.”

“That’s why I’ve issued subpoenas to multiple Florida-based hospitals to ensure they comply with Florida law and provide patients with open, transparent pricing for medical services. Patients are still consumers, and they deserve transparency.”

At the center of the issue is a Florida law which states that unfair and deceptive acts and practices are “unlawful,” yet some hospitals in Florida have been accused of not posting their prices and thus flouting that law. 

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Florida’s Republican attorney general is investigating hospitals that are allegedly operating with predatory pricing. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Uthmeier said his subpoenas are part of an investigation “related to patient charges, disclosures, billing practices, price transparency, and surprise billing protections.”

The hospital systems targeted by the subpoenas include Southern Baptist of Florida and AdventhHealth. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the hospitals for comment. 

AdventHealth Orlando previously faced criticism in 2021 after a patient with insurance was billed over half a million dollars after giving birth to a son, CBS News reported. That bill was reportedly lowered to $300 after the press began inquiring about the situation. 

“Hospitals have hidden their prices yet have forced patients to sign a blank check before they can get care,” Cynthia Fisher, founder and chair of PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA), said in a statement.

“As long as prices have been hidden, hospitals have been able to charge whatever they want. The Attorney General’s action seeks to protect patients through actual upfront prices. This investigation will protect Floridians from hospitals’ predatory practices, prevent overcharges, and make bills accountable. Ultimately, these consumer protections will help consumers to lower their costs.”

In a recent report from PRA, it was found that only 29% of Florida hospitals were in compliance with federal transparency rules, and 3% provided sufficient pricing data to consumers.

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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier answers questions with Orange County Sheriff John Mina, left, during a press conference. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Roughly 100 million Americans are currently in debt due to medical costs, representing the nation’s leading cause of personal bankruptcy, according to KFF Health News.

Uthmeier’s actions are in line with recent efforts by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in February, titled, “Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information.” 

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President Donald Trump waves farewell as he boards Air Force One. (AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The order directs the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to rapidly implement and enforce the Trump healthcare price transparency regulations, which were slow walked by the prior administration,” the White House said at the time. 

“The departments will ensure hospitals and insurers disclose actual prices, not estimates, and take action to make prices comparable across hospitals and insurers, including prescription drug prices. The departments will update their enforcement policies to ensure hospitals and insurers are in compliance with requirements to make prices transparent.”