Background / Purpose: The Hospital Price Transparency Rule requires hospitals to publicly post pricing information for services rendered; however, the usability, and the completeness of these data remain uncertain. This project aims to systematically collect and compile publicly available hospital pricing data into a structured repository and compare these data with the Colorado All-Payer Claims Database (CO APCD) to understand overall reliability.
Methods: Hospital price transparency files were collected from Colorado hospitals’ websites. Data were cleaned, standardized, and loaded into a centralized repository. Key variables such as procedure, description, setting, gross charge, and payer-specific charges were extracted. These data were then linked to the CO APCD and compared to allowed amounts for corresponding service-level estimates using variables such as hospital National Provider Identifier (NPI), procedure codes, modifiers, and care settings. Analyses were conducted to evaluate differences, variation, and completeness across data sources.
Results (Phase I): Preliminary findings indicate substantial variation in how hospitals report pricing data, including inconsistencies in formatting, completeness, and definitions. Differences in reporting across hospitals- particularly for variables such as modifiers and payer classifications- as well as structural differences in the CO APCD, required additional methodological approaches to enable meaningful comparisons.
Implications: This project demonstrates both the potential and limitations of hospital price transparency data. While a centralized, standardized repository can improve data accessibility, inconsistencies in reporting create methodological challenges and may reduce comparability. These findings highlight the need for stronger standardization and enforcement to enhance transparency efforts and support informed decision-making among policymakers, researchers, and consumers. The project also demonstrates the potential for analyses linking both data types for evaluations.
