What is the Hospital Price Transparency rule? Healthcare costs — some of the most significant expenses in our lives — have historically been unknown and unavailable to consumers until the bill arrived. With the Hospital Price Transparency Rule, instituted on January 1, 2021, you'll be able to see more costs ahead of time. There are two phases to the rule. Phase one requires hospitals to publish their prices online. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "Hospitals must post standard charges for at least 300 shoppable services that can be planned in advance, such as x-rays, outpatient visits, imaging and laboratory tests or bundled services such as a colonoscopy." Hospitals will be charged a penalty of $300 a day for noncompliance.