5 Miami-Fort Lauderdale Area Hospitals Found Non-Compliant With Federal Price Transparency Rules

Watchdog group says major hospitals are keeping patients in the dark on costs while charging prices far above Medicare rates

 July 20, 2026 — More than 500 hospitals across the country have been warned by the federal government for failing to comply with hospital price transparency requirements, including 5 hospitals in the Miami-Ft Lauderdale area.

 The findings underscore a growing affordability crisis in healthcare where major hospital systems continue to use vague, incomplete and difficult-to-access pricing information that prevents patients, families, and employers from understanding the true cost of care before the bill arrives.

 Some of the local hospitals who have failed to comply with the federal price transparency guidelines include:

• Baptist Hospital of Miami

• Depoo Hospital

• Douglas Gardens Hospital

• Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center

• Catherine’s Rehabilitation Hospital

“Patients should not have to guess what a hospital visit is going to cost,” said Adam Buckalew, spokesperson for Hospital Watch. “If hospitals are serious about affordability, they should start by following the basic transparency rules already on the books. Instead, too many major hospital systems are hiding prices, protecting inflated rates, and leaving families to deal with surprise bills they cannot afford.”

 Corporate hospital systems routinely charge patients and private insurers roughly three times what Medicare pays for the same services, making hospital prices one of the biggest drivers of rising healthcare costs in the United States. Without clear and enforceable price transparency, hospitals can continue hiding inflated prices behind opaque billing practices, facility fees, and confusing estimates.

 The lack of transparency is especially concerning in markets where a handful of powerful hospital systems dominate care. As hospital consolidation has increased, many patients have fewer choices, less leverage, and little ability to compare prices before receiving care.

 “The hospital market in the Miami-Ft Lauderdale area is dominated by a handful of powerful systems,” Buckalew said. “When hospitals buy up competitors and face little real competition, patients lose. Prices go up, premiums rise, and families are left with medical bills they cannot afford.”

 Buckalew said the latest report should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers, regulators, employers, and patients. Enforcing existing transparency rules is an essential first step, but broader oversight is needed to address the consolidation and pricing practices that allow hospitals to charge excessive rates with limited accountability.

 “We need real enforcement of hospital price transparency and stronger scrutiny of hospital consolidation,” Buckalew said. “Sunlight is the first step toward accountability. Patients and employers deserve to know what they are being charged, why prices are so high, and whether hospitals are giving them a fair deal.”

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 Hospital Watch is a watchdog group dedicated to shining a light on corporate hospitals as the top culprit in driving up U.S. healthcare costs – exposing corporate hospitals’ monopolistic practices in price gouging patients with excessive markups and hidden fees with no transparency while forcing patients and employers to pay more for their care. Hospital Watch is a project of Better Solutions for Healthcare.