--- title: "Florida Hospital Association Gets Transparent With New Tool" id: "31760" type: "post" slug: "florida-hospital-association-gets-transparent-with-new-tool" published_at: "2016-01-20T23:44:55+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T15:21:39+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/01/20/florida-hospital-association-gets-transparent-with-new-tool/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/01/20/florida-hospital-association-gets-transparent-with-new-tool.md" excerpt: "Mission to Care, a new online database released by the Florida Hospital Association last week, could help with one of the pain points for the state's medical industry: a lack of clarity in healthcare pricing." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "costs" - "hospital data" - "transparency" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Florida Hospital Association Gets Transparent With New Tool Whether you’re [dealing with high blood pressure (opens in a new tab)](http://www.missiontocare.org/prices/?hosp=100020&drg=305) or [about to start a family (opens in a new tab)](http://www.missiontocare.org/prices/?drg=766&hosp=100008) , a new tool from the Florida Hospital Association (FHA) could bring some clarity to the process before the medical bills come. Last week, the association launched a website and database called [Mission to Care (opens in a new tab)](http://www.missiontocare.org/) , which highlights the costs of the 50 most-popular medical procedures at hospitals around the state. The website [gathers information from a variety of resources (opens in a new tab)](http://www.fha.org/news/show-details/Florida-Hospital-Association-Launches-New-Online-Resource-Featuring-Hospital-Prices-and-Quality-Ratings/42) , including: - Discharge data from Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration - Data from the Florida Hospital Uniform Reporting System - Hospital comparison ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Patient experience ratings from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems “On the search page, consumers can search by hospitals, [as well as] the individual procedure or health condition such as cesarean section, high blood pressure, or hip, ankle or knee procedures,” explained Kim Streit, FHA’s vice president of healthcare research and information, [in comments to WFSU (opens in a new tab)](http://news.wfsu.org/post/florida-hospital-association-rolls-out-transparency-website) . The solution introduced by the association is an approach to an issue that’s quickly becoming a major talking point for the state’s medical industry—the fact that prices for medical procedures are often opaque. > We can do this quickly and without legislation. Last year, Florida [was one of 45 states to receive a failing grade based (opens in a new tab)](http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2015/07/florida-gets-an-f-on-healthcare-price-transparency.html) on its healthcare transparency laws, according [to a report released (opens in a new tab)](http://www.catalyzepaymentreform.org/images/documents/2015_Report_PriceTransLaws_06.pdf) [PDF] by the Catalyst for Payment Reform and Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who was once a healthcare executive, is among the advocates pushing for more healthcare transparency, and lawmakers are working on legislation to take on the issue. But FHA’s tool is a good argument that an association can take the lead on a pressing regulatory problem. “We can do this quickly and without legislation,” FHA President Bruce Rueben said of the issue, [according to the Orlando Business Journal (opens in a new tab)](http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2016/01/new-hospital-price-transparency-tool-unveiled-by.html) . “It’s a step forward as our state looks at how to move forward with the issue of transparency.” (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#costs](https://associationsnow.com/tag/costs/) [#hospital data](https://associationsnow.com/tag/hospital-data/) [#transparency](https://associationsnow.com/tag/transparency/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoAssociation Governance Institute: Your Governance HeadquartersMarch 18, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/03/18/association-governance-institute-your-governance-headquarters/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F01%2F20%2Fflorida-hospital-association-gets-transparent-with-new-tool%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !