CMS has sent out warning letters to hospitals violating a federal requirement that they publicly disclose the prices they negotiate with insurers, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Florida, and Georgia.

• District of Columbia: CMS has sent out warning letters to hospitals not publicly disclosing the prices they negotiate with insurers, which they have been required to do since Jan. 1. Hospitals that have received the letters have 90 days to correct the issue, at which point CMS said it may close the inquiry, issue another warning for continued noncompliance, or request the hospital provide a corrective action plan. In addition, according to Modern Healthcare, hospitals that do not comply with the regulation may be subject to a monetary penalty of up to $300 per day. According to a CMS spokesperson, the agency began auditing hospital websites and reviewing complaints not long after the rule took effect and started issuing the warning letters in April (Brady, Modern Healthcare, 5/7; Muoio, Fierce Healthcare, 5/10).

• Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday signed into law a bill raising the state's age for the purchase of nicotine and tobacco products to 21, which will go into effect in October. In 2019, the U.S. House and Senate approved raising the federal age for the purchase of e-cigarettes and tobacco to 21, The Hill reports (Manchester, The Hill, 5/10).

• Georgia: Michael Scherneck, president and CEO of Southeast Georgia Health System, announced he will retire in early 2022. Scherneck has been with Southeast Georgia since 2003 when he joined as EVP and CFO before being named president and CEO in 2015 (Gooch, Becker's Hospital Review, 4/30).