Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent letters to 24 large healthcare services companies, warning them of their legal obligation to provide patients with timely, accurate, and complete pricing information, according to a statement from the agency.

The letters state that failing to provide transparent price information may constitute an unfair or deceptive practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act, particularly for routine and non-emergency medical care scheduled in advance.

The FTC noted that compliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services price transparency rules does not exempt healthcare facilities from FTC Act obligations. The agency stated that CMS rules do not create a safe harbor from FTC Act liability.

According to the letters, price is considered a material term, meaning clear and conspicuous disclosures are often required. A disclosure may still be considered deceptive if it is incomplete, such as when it omits physician or facility fees or covers only part of the expected course of care. The FTC added that inaccurate disclosures are similarly misleading.

The agency stated that incomplete or untimely pricing disclosures may also qualify as unfair practices if they cause substantial injury that consumers cannot reasonably avoid. The FTC argued that such practices undermine competition by obscuring pricing information from consumer comparison.

Ferguson urged the companies to conduct a comprehensive review of their price disclosure practices and take corrective action where needed. The FTC did not publicly identify the 24 companies that received letters.

The action follows the FTC's creation of a Healthcare Task Force earlier this year and a recent lawsuit against online contact lens provider Lens.com for allegedly misrepresenting contact lens prices in search ads and on its website.