The HHS publicly released the ownership data for more than 7,000 U.S. hospitals for the first time on Tuesday.
The information will be a one-stop-shop for up-to-date hospital ownership for researchers, reporters and the broader public, as many hospitals across the country belong to larger health systems — though it’s not always easy to tell.
Releasing the data is part of a larger bid to increase transparency in healthcare, the HHS said, and is also part of President Joe Biden’s executive order on promoting competition in the sector. The data will be updated monthly.
Earlier this year, the HHS released the ownership information on 15,000 nursing homes and data on mergers and acquisitions in healthcare.
The new ownership data, already available online and in a searchable format, provides detailed information on the more than 7,000 hospitals certified to participate in the Medicare program.
The database shows whether an organization is a direct or indirect owner of a hospital and provides a classification of the type of owners, including whether it’s an investment firm, holding company or staffing company.
“We are pulling back the curtain and letting the sunshine in on hospital and nursing home ownership because it is what the public deserves,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said Tuesday in a statement.