On July 24, 2020, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) hospital price disclosure rule, which places onerous, sweeping obligations on health systems to disclose multiple lists of prices negotiated with third-party payers and discounts negotiated with patients paying cash. Manatt’s brief, filed on behalf of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) argues that the price disclosure rule is ineffective at serving the goal of price transparency, significantly burdens hospital administrations at a time when they are struggling to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and exceeds the scope of HHS’s statutory authority. On behalf of HFMA, Manatt’s team, including partners Michael S. Kolber, Charles E. Weir, and Benjamin G. Shatz, seeks to reverse the lower court’s ruling and vacate the price disclosure rule.

The brief was filed in support of the appellants in American Hospital Association, et al., v. Azar, No. 20-5193.