Monitor Hospital Price Transparency Compliance with Confidence

Launching Q1 2026, MRF Monitor standardizes CMS transparency oversight with automated monthly scans, structured compliance findings, a centralized MRF library, extracted CMS index-file fields, and complete metadata capture from every machine-readable file.

CMS created the transparency rule not only to enforce compliance, but to ensure pricing data is consistently accessible and easy to consume. When hospitals publish compliant files, their data becomes far more usable for patients, partners, and downstream systems.

Expertise and Operational Experience Behind Every Compliance Check

How we started...

MRF Monitor is built by a team with more than five years of hands-on experience sourcing, validating, and analyzing hospital price transparency files for enterprise healthcare organizations. We’ve worked directly with the operational realities of the CMS rule — from inconsistent publishing practices to complex metadata issues and evolving enforcement standards.

...What we've built

Our team understands the compliance requirements, the common failure points, and the downstream impact non-compliant files have on data usability. We’ve taken that firsthand experience and transformed it into a purpose-built platform designed to standardize, monitor, and simplify CMS transparency compliance at scale.

Compliance Is Mandatory. Making Pricing Data Usable Shouldn’t Be Difficult.

CMS created the Hospital Price Transparency Rule to make pricing data easier to find, understand, and consume. Yet hospitals vary significantly in how they publish their machine-readable files, introducing challenges in both compliance and data usability.


Common issues include:

  • location_on Inconsistent hosting locations for MRFs
  • sync Frequent URL changes without notice
  • description Missing or malformed CMS index files (cms-hpt.txt)
  • block Inaccessible or blocked machine-readable files
  • warning Missing, stale, or inconsistent metadata and required fields

These inconsistencies make pricing data difficult for hospitals, payers, regulators, researchers, and analytics teams to reliably consume — directly undermining CMS’s goal of creating clear, accessible, and usable data.

Compliance improves data usability. MRF Monitor provides the structure and repeatability needed to achieve both.

local_hospital  Hospital A
local_hospital  Hospital B
local_hospital  Hospital C
stacked_line_chart
MRF Monitor
Standardized Compliance Findings

A Centralized, Standardized Way to Evaluate Transparency Compliance

event_repeat

Monthly Compliance Scans

Automated, repeatable evaluations aligned with CMS transparency requirements — including index-file presence, accessibility checks, metadata validation, and file-level monitoring.

assignment_turned_in

CMS Index File Accessibility & Verification

We verify the required cms-hpt.txt file exists, is accessible, and includes all mandated fields, ensuring stakeholders can reliably locate and consume published pricing data.

folder_open

Centralized MRF File Library

Access validated machine-readable files from a single source of truth. Confirmed URLs, downloadable files, structured metadata, and traceable version history eliminate the need to navigate fragmented hospital websites.

apartment

Facility-Level Compliance Status

Track discrepancies in facility names, URLs, contacts, and reported locations. Identify unreported changes and maintain an accurate view of each facility’s publishing practices.

fact_check

Structured Compliance Findings

Each hospital receives a clear compliance status for each compliance check — pass, warning, or fail — supported by detailed findings suitable for audit review, regulatory documentation, and internal reporting.

monitoring

Compliance Trend Tracking

Visualize whether a facility’s compliance posture is improving or declining over time. Identify recurring issues and anticipate potential enforcement risks. Coming Soon

A Clear and Repeatable Compliance Evaluation Process

1

Select Facilities to Monitor

Choose the individual hospital locations you want to track. Each facility is monitored independently to ensure accurate, facility-specific compliance evaluation.

2

MRF Monitor Collects and Validates Required Files

The platform retrieves each hospital’s cms_hpt.txt index file and associated MRFs, validating accessibility, required fields, metadata integrity, and file-level structure using standardized collection procedures.

3

Automated Monthly Compliance Scan

Every month, MRF Monitor re-evaluates compliance status and tracks changes in publishing behavior — alerting you to missing files, URL changes, inconsistencies, or deviations from CMS requirements.

4

Access Structured Findings in the Dashboard

View clear, structured results including compliance scoring, missing or inaccessible files, updated URLs, facility discrepancies, and other patterns that impact data usability.

5

Download MRFs and Metadata From Our Centralized Library

Every validated file is available through the centralized MRF Library, with confirmed URLs, metadata, and historical versions preserved for audit, ingestion, and downstream system use.

Designed for Compliance Stakeholders

local_hospital

Hospitals & Facilities

Monitor your own compliance posture, identify gaps in publishing practices, and strengthen audit readiness with standardized, verifiable findings.

gavel

Regulators & Enforcement Bodies

Gain consistent, independent visibility into facility compliance — without relying on hospital self-reporting or manual verification.

workspace_premium

Compliance Consultants & Legal Teams

Support advisory work with validated compliance assessments, structured findings, and documentation ready for audits or regulatory inquiries.

science

Researchers & Policy Analysts

Analyze compliance patterns across regions, facility types, and over time using standardized data from facilities nationwide.

insights

Data Analytics Companies

Ensure downstream analytics pipelines begin with compliant, validated files — reducing ingestion errors and improving data reliability.

Transparency Compliance Isn’t Just a Requirement — It Enables Usable Data.

CMS created the transparency rule to ensure pricing data is clear, accurate, and easy to consume — not simply to enforce compliance. When hospitals publish compliant files, the entire ecosystem benefits: patients gain clarity, analytics teams reduce friction, and downstream systems can rely on structured, machine-readable data.

MRF Monitor helps stakeholders:

  • flag_circle Identify compliance risks proactively
  • library_books Document findings for audits or regulatory review
  • sync_saved_locally Maintain a standardized, repeatable oversight process
  • cloud_download Ensure timely access to verified machine-readable files
  • autoplay Reduce manual labor, uncertainty, and operational burden

Compliance creates clarity. MRF Monitor ensures the data you rely on is complete, validated, and consistently structured.

Questions Answered

What CMS requirements does MRF Monitor evaluate?

MRF Monitor validates the cms-hpt.txt index file, confirms accessible and functioning source-page and MRF URLs, checks all required fields, verifies facility listing accuracy, evaluates metadata elements required by CMS, and performs schema-level validation to ensure MRF files are structured correctly.

How often are compliance scans performed?

Monthly. Each scan reevaluates file presence, accessibility, URL changes, metadata consistency, and other compliance indicators.

Can I download machine-readable files for the hospitals I track?

Yes — every verified MRF surfaced during compliance checks is available through the centralized MRF Library for easy access and downstream use.

Does MRF Monitor modify hospital-published files?

No. All files are preserved exactly as published. MRF Monitor validates them, records metadata, and provides standardized access but does not alter file contents.

Can MRF Monitor help with audit preparation?

MRF Monitor provides structured compliance findings within the platform. While export capabilities are not yet available, they are planned for a future release.

Know Where Hospitals Stand on CMS Price Transparency

MRF Monitor launches in Q1 2026. Join the early-access list to see how closely the hospitals you track align with CMS price transparency requirements

Contact Us