Healthcare organizations are now required to comply with CMS Price Transparency regulations, which include publishing machine-readable files (MRFs) and a properly formatted cms-hpt.txt file at the root of their website.
In this case, the task involved updating an existing WordPress site to meet CMS requirements by appending new hospital data, ensuring public access to MRF URLs, and aligning site pages with compliance standards.
Issue Background
A healthcare website needed to meet CMS transparency requirements, including:
- Hosting a cms-hpt.txt file at the root domain
- Including multiple hospital entries in a single TXT file
- Linking to machine-readable files (MRFs) hosted externally
- Ensuring all MRF links are publicly accessible (no login required)
- Providing source page URLs for each hospital location
- Updating frontend pages that reference these disclosures
The site already had an existing cms-hpt.txt file with multiple entries, and new hospital locations needed to be added without breaking compliance.
Diagnosis
Several key requirements and issues were identified:
- CMS requires a single TXT file per domain
- New entries must be appended—not separated into multiple files
- MRF links must be publicly accessible
- Each entry requires a valid source-page-url
- Some new hospital entries did not yet have dedicated pages
Additionally, initial MRF links were behind authentication, which is not compliant with CMS guidelines.
Resolution Steps
1. Review existing cms-hpt.txt structure
The existing file already followed CMS formatting requirements and included multiple hospital entries. The approach was to append new entries rather than create a new file.
2. Ensure MRF links are public
All machine-readable file URLs were verified to be publicly accessible. Any links behind login were replaced with direct public URLs from the third-party provider.
3. Define source page URLs
Each hospital entry requires a source page URL. Existing hospitals used dedicated pages, while new entries used a centralized billing page to meet requirements.
4. Append new hospital entries
New locations were added to the cms-hpt.txt file using the required CMS format:
location-name: [Hospital Name]
source-page-url: https://example.com/billing/
mrf-url: https://example.com/mrf
contact-name: [Contact Name]
contact-email: [Contact Email]All entries remained in a single file with consistent formatting.
5. Update frontend disclosure pages
Existing pricing transparency pages were updated to include references to the new hospital locations and their associated MRF links.
6. Validate compliance
Final checks ensured:
- The cms-hpt.txt file is accessible at the root domain
- All MRF links are publicly accessible
- Source pages are live and correctly referenced
Final Outcome
The cms-hpt.txt file was successfully updated with new hospital entries while maintaining compliance with CMS requirements. All MRF links were made publicly accessible, and frontend pages were aligned with transparency standards.
This implementation ensures the website meets CMS Price Transparency regulations and is properly structured for both compliance and user accessibility.
If you need help implementing CMS compliance, managing third-party integrations, or updating your WordPress site for regulatory requirements, contact Freshy.
