This post was co-authored by Aarathi Kallur, Legal Intern in Robinson+Cole’s Health Law Group.
On October 5, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman sent a warning letter to 24 of the country’s largest health care organizations, and published an anonymized version of the letter, reminding the organizations of their ongoing obligation to “provide patients with timely, accurate, and complete pricing” information related to the receipt of health care services.
The FTC letter warns that (1) it is closely scrutinizing the practices of healthcare organizations with respect to price transparency, and (2) compliance with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) price transparency rules does not “provide a safe harbor from liability” under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The letter particularly identifies pricing practices for “non-emergency services” scheduled in advance as an area of FTC focus.
In the letter, the FTC reiterates its authority to regulate alleged deceptive, unfair and anticompetitive business practices in health care under Section 5 of the FTC Act, and references its establishment of a Healthcare Task Force earlier in 2026. The FTC acknowledges the price transparency requirements enacted by CMS starting in 2021, as well as regulations and processes established by CMS under the No Surprises Act intended to protect patients and other consumers from surprise medical bills. The FTC takes the position that the CMS price transparency rules establish a “regulatory floor” and that compliance with CMS requirements does not necessarily mean that an organization meets its obligations under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The letter states that “the price of healthcare services is a material term” under the FTC Act, and “clear and conspicuous disclosures” of pricing terms are necessary to prevent deception of consumers. The letter related warns that even where pricing terms are disclosed, they may still be deceptive if incomplete, “such as when they omit certain charges like physician fees or facility fees…” The letter continues to explain that incomplete or inaccurate pricing is also unfair to consumers where it causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers, and may occur where patients are unable to compare pricing between providers and make informed decisions.
The FTC concludes the letter by encouraging all health care organizations to “conduct a comprehensive review of” pricing practices to ensure patients and the public are provided with timely, accurate, and complete pricing for services, particularly those that can be scheduled in advance.
Based on past enforcement activities, it would not be surprising if this letter and coordinated warning to systems precedes enhanced scrutiny of pricing and “good faith estimate” practices of health care organizations across the country by the FTC. Organizations would therefore be well-advised to audit their own price transparency practices and processes for providing consumers with pricing information, and to address any issues which may arise.