Hospital Price Transparency. From Source Data to Publication.

Name: PayerAnalytics
Brand: Cranberry Peak

Cranberry Peak supports hospitals with the machine-readable file, shoppable services, and related website requirements, including complex payer-rate methodologies and 835 remittance data processing when applicable.

PayerAnalytics is Cranberry Peak's hospital price transparency solution, bringing together structured data processing, reimbursement methodology workflows, technical quality review, and hands-on implementation support from source data through publication.

Discuss Your Project Try the Hospital Price Transparency Checker

Machine-Readable File • Shoppable Services • 835 Remittance Processing • Website Implementation Support

Hospital Price Transparency Implementation

The CMS template is only the beginning

The difficult part is often turning real hospital data into a consistent public-facing implementation. Source data may live across multiple systems, reimbursement methodologies vary by payer and plan, and some 2026 reporting elements depend on historical payment information.

Data comes from different systems

Chargemaster exports, fee schedules, reimbursement documentation, billing reports, 835 remittances, and other source files rarely arrive in one standardized format.

Reimbursement methodologies vary

Rates may be fixed-dollar amounts, fee schedules, percentages of charges, Medicare-based methodologies, algorithms, or combinations of these approaches.

Publication requires multiple pieces

The machine-readable file is one part of the work. Hospitals also maintain shoppable services and related website publication elements.

New • Beta

Want a quick look at a hospital's public price transparency setup?

Try the PayerAnalytics Hospital Price Transparency Checker Beta to review publicly available price transparency links, discovery files, and selected machine-readable file elements.

Automated informational review only. Results are not a CMS audit or compliance determination.

Check a Hospital Website

How PayerAnalytics Helps

One implementation path from hospital data to public-facing deliverables

Cranberry Peak works with hospital teams through the data preparation, methodology, generation, review, and publication steps rather than treating the project as a simple file conversion.

Collect source data

Chargemaster data, fee schedules, reimbursement documentation, 835 remittances, billing reports, and practical Excel or CSV exports.

Normalize and map

Organize services, billing codes, payer and plan information, locations, and reimbursement methodologies into a structured workflow.

Generate and review

Build the CMS-structured machine-readable file and shoppable-services output, then perform technical validation and consistency checks.

Support publication

Provide the files and practical implementation instructions needed by the hospital and its web team for public posting.

Practical Data Intake

We work with the data you actually have

Hospital price transparency projects rarely begin with perfectly normalized data. PayerAnalytics is designed around practical source data and the reimbursement information available to the hospital.

Chargemaster / CDM

Facility and professional charge data, descriptions, billing codes, revenue codes, units, and related service information.

Reimbursement Documentation

Hospital-provided rate tables, payer reports, and other reimbursement information used to develop documented payer-specific methodologies.

Fee Schedules

Commercial, Medicare-based, Medicaid, workers' compensation, and other applicable reimbursement schedules.

835 Remittances

Historical remittance data used when applicable for allowed-amount statistics and payment-based analysis.

Billing and System Reports

Operational reports and exports can be used when the required information is not available from a single structured source.

Excel / CSV Files

Practical spreadsheet and delimited-file formats can often serve as the starting point for data intake and normalization.

Implementation Support

A coordinated hospital price transparency workflow

PayerAnalytics brings together the technical and data-processing steps that hospitals would otherwise need to coordinate across multiple internal teams or one-off tools.

Machine-Readable File

Generate CMS-structured MRF outputs from the hospital's available source data and documented reimbursement methodologies.

Shoppable Services

Prepare and implement a hospital-specific consumer-friendly display using service descriptions, identifiers, selections, and pricing information provided or approved by the hospital.

835 Remittance Processing

Process remittance data when applicable to support allowed-amount statistics for percentage- or algorithm-based negotiated charges.

Payer and Plan Mapping

Connect payer and plan information to the relevant reimbursement methodology and hospital service data.

Technical Validation & Quality Review

Review generated files against applicable published CMS technical specifications and perform structural, consistency, and data-quality checks before publication.

Website Implementation Support

Provide practical instructions for MRF URLs, file naming, the required TXT file, shoppable-services links, and related website publication steps.

Shoppable Services Implementation

A consumer-friendly display prepared for each hospital

PayerAnalytics includes development of the hospital's public-facing shoppable services display as part of the broader price transparency implementation. Cranberry Peak organizes and presents the service descriptions, identifiers, selections, and pricing information provided or approved by the hospital for publication on its website.

Built From Hospital Data

Each implementation is prepared from the hospital's service list, descriptions, identifiers, payer and plan information, and approved pricing data.

Payer, Plan & Cash Pricing

Organize and present hospital-provided payer- and plan-specific pricing together with the hospital's discounted cash price.

Hospital-Specific Service Selection

Organize the hospital's selected services, including applicable CMS-specified services, and identify “Not Offered” where the hospital indicates that a service is not provided.

Website-Ready Publication

Prepare a hospital-specific display and practical publication and linking instructions for the hospital's website team.

Service descriptions are based on hospital-provided content. When Cranberry Peak prepares patient-friendly wording, it is provided to the hospital for review and approval before publication.

A Practical Implementation Approach

Structured workflows. Experienced implementation support.

Price transparency work often requires connecting source data, fee schedules, payer-specific rate information, remittance information, and service coding across multiple systems and formats. PayerAnalytics brings those pieces into a structured implementation process designed around the information available to the hospital.

The goal is a practical, reviewable implementation that reflects the reimbursement information available to the hospital and can be maintained as data or published CMS technical requirements change.

Structured implementation workflow

A coordinated process for payer mapping, rate methodologies, MRF generation, shoppable services, and remittance-based calculations.

Hands-on methodology review

Work with hospital teams to translate available fee schedules, rate tables, payer reports, and other reimbursement documentation into implementation logic.

Practical collaboration

Coordinate with finance, revenue cycle, billing, IT, web, and other hospital stakeholders as needed to move the implementation forward.

2026 Reporting Context

Allowed-amount reporting adds another layer of data work

Beginning January 1, 2026, CMS materials describe updated machine-readable file elements for certain payer-specific negotiated charges that are based on a percentage or algorithm.

For these situations, the 2026 MRF includes median, 10th percentile, 90th percentile, and count of allowed amounts. CMS also updated attestation-related elements and organizational Type 2 NPI reporting.

Key timing: the revised requirements became effective January 1, 2026, with enforcement of the new and revised elements beginning April 1, 2026.

Median allowed amount

Reported in dollars for certain percentage- or algorithm-based payer-specific negotiated charges.

10th percentile allowed amount

Provides lower-distribution detail for the applicable allowed-amount reporting set.

90th percentile allowed amount

Provides upper-distribution detail alongside the median and 10th percentile values.

Count of allowed amounts

Represents the number of allowed amounts included in the calculation set.

12–15 month lookback

CMS finalized a historical lookback period of no less than 12 months and no longer than 15 months prior to posting the file for the applicable calculations.

Remittance data matters

In practical implementations, the new allowed-amount elements can make historical payment and remittance data an important part of the workflow.

When PayerAnalytics Can Help

Support for new implementations, updates, and time-sensitive projects

Hospitals may need support at very different stages. Cranberry Peak can begin with the data and implementation status available today and help define practical next steps.

Building from source data

For hospitals creating or substantially rebuilding their machine-readable file and shoppable-services implementation.

Updating an existing implementation

For hospitals adapting prior files to applicable published CMS technical requirements or incorporating new payer, plan, NPI, or allowed-amount information.

Addressing a time-sensitive issue

For teams that need a focused review, data-processing plan, or implementation path within a compressed timeline.

CMS Technical Materials

Built around CMS's published technical framework

CMS publishes templates, schemas, data dictionaries, validation resources, naming conventions, and supporting implementation materials for Hospital Price Transparency. These materials provide the technical framework used in the PayerAnalytics implementation process.

Templates and data dictionary

Structured MRF requirements

CMS's published CSV and JSON technical materials define the expected structure and data elements for the machine-readable file.

Validation tools

Technical validation resources

CMS validation resources can be used as an initial technical check of file structure and formatting. Cranberry Peak also performs additional consistency and quality review within the implementation workflow.

Website publication

Naming, TXT file, and related website requirements

The public-facing implementation includes file naming, direct MRF access, the required TXT file, shoppable-services access, and related website publication details.

Start With Where You Are

Working on Hospital Price Transparency?

Whether you are building an MRF from source data, updating an existing implementation, working through 835 allowed-amount reporting, or addressing a time-sensitive issue, we would be glad to review where things stand and discuss practical next steps.

Discuss Your Project

Frequently Asked Questions

What does PayerAnalytics help a hospital do?

PayerAnalytics supports the operational and technical work involved in Hospital Price Transparency implementation, including source-data normalization, payer-rate methodology, machine-readable file generation, shoppable services, 835 remittance processing when applicable, technical validation, and related website implementation support.

What source data can Cranberry Peak work with?

Depending on the hospital and payer methodology, useful source data may include chargemaster exports, fee schedules, hospital-provided reimbursement documentation, 835 remittance files, billing reports, claims-related data, and Excel or CSV exports from hospital systems.

Why are 835 remittances relevant to the 2026 MRF?

For certain payer-specific negotiated charges based on a percentage or algorithm, the 2026 MRF includes allowed-amount statistics. Historical remittance data can therefore become an important source for calculating the applicable median, percentile, and count values.

Does PayerAnalytics provide legal or compliance advice?

No. PayerAnalytics provides implementation, data-processing, and technical support. Cranberry Peak does not provide legal or regulatory advice and does not make a hospital's legal or compliance determinations. Hospitals should review regulatory interpretations and organization-specific decisions with their internal compliance or legal teams.

How can we get started?

Contact Cranberry Peak to discuss your current implementation status, available source data, payer methodologies, and timeline. We can then outline a practical path for the project and identify the data needed to begin.

Disclaimer: This page is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or compliance advice. The content summarizes publicly available CMS materials and does not interpret regulatory requirements. PayerAnalytics provides implementation, data-processing, and technical support and does not make a hospital's legal or compliance determinations. Use of PayerAnalytics does not guarantee compliance with federal price transparency requirements. Hospitals should review applicable CMS materials and organization-specific interpretations with their compliance or legal teams. This page is not affiliated with or endorsed by CMS or any government agency.