# Hospital Price Transparency File Finder (`brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder`) Actor

Healthcare-price researchers and compliance auditors get the exact machine-readable price file a hospital must publish, with format, size and freshness verified.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Nick Randall](https://apify.com/brightpath-data) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 location rows

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Hospital Price Transparency File Finder

Healthcare-price researchers and compliance auditors get the exact machine-readable price file a hospital is required to publish, with its format, size and freshness verified, instead of hunting for it by hand. Point it at a hospital's domain and it finds and checks the file the way a person would, just automated.

Get clean, structured price transparency file records from hospital websites as JSON, CSV or Excel, or call it as a tool from Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or any MCP client. Pay only for the results you receive.

### What you get

One row per hospital location. Since 2024, US hospitals are required by federal regulation to publish a plain-text index at `https://{domain}/cms-hpt.txt` listing their machine-readable price files. This Actor fetches that index (with a `www.` fallback), parses each location block, and sends a HEAD request to each machine-readable file link to confirm it actually responds and to record its content type, size and last-modified date, without downloading the file itself. Contact name and email in the source file are dropped; nothing personal is collected.

Every result is a flat record with stable field names, so it drops straight into a spreadsheet, a database or an AI agent's context.

### Why use this instead of checking manually

- Checks both the bare-domain and `www.` locations automatically
- Verifies each machine-readable file link actually resolves, and reports its size and format without downloading it
- One failing hospital website never stops the run; it is reported as "missing" so you know
- Works as an MCP tool, so AI agents can audit transparency compliance on demand
- No browser, no proxies, no personal data: a tiny cost per result

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Meaning |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `domains` | array | (required) | Bare hospital website domains, e.g. `["mayoclinic.org", "clevelandclinic.org"]`. No "https://" or "www." |
| `checkFileHeaders` | boolean | true | Send a HEAD request to each machine-readable file to record its size, format and last-modified date. Turn off for a faster run that only lists the file locations. |
| `maxResults` | integer | 50 | Cap on location rows saved across all domains. You are charged per row, so this caps your cost. |

Example input:

```json
{ "domains": ["mayoclinic.org", "clevelandclinic.org"], "checkFileHeaders": true, "maxResults": 50 }
```

### Output

Sample rows from a live run:

| domain | status | format |
|---|---|---|
| mayoclinic.org | found | csv |
| mayoclinic.org | found | csv |
| mayoclinic.org | found | csv |

Full example result:

```json
{
  "domain": "mayoclinic.org",
  "hptFileUrl": "https://www.mayoclinic.org/cms-hpt.txt",
  "status": "found",
  "locationName": "Mayo Clinic Hospital - Rochester",
  "sourcePageUrl": "https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/billing-insurance/price-estimates/chargemaster",
  "mrfUrl": "https://www.mayoclinic.org/documents/price-transparency/mc-rochester.json",
  "mrfFormat": "json",
  "mrfSizeBytes": 48213765,
  "mrfLastModified": "Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:00:00 GMT",
  "mrfHttpStatus": 200,
  "checkedAt": "2026-09-15T18:00:00.000Z"
}
```

A domain with no file at all still produces one row so you know it was checked:

```json
{
  "domain": "example-hospital.org",
  "hptFileUrl": null,
  "status": "missing",
  "locationName": null,
  "sourcePageUrl": null,
  "mrfUrl": null,
  "mrfFormat": null,
  "mrfSizeBytes": null,
  "mrfLastModified": null,
  "mrfHttpStatus": null,
  "checkedAt": "2026-09-15T18:00:03.000Z"
}
```

Field reference: `domain`, `hptFileUrl` (the working index URL, bare or `www.`), `status` (`found`, `missing`, or `unparsable` when a file exists but no location block could be read from it), `locationName`, `sourcePageUrl`, `mrfUrl`, `mrfFormat` (`json`, `csv`, `xml`, `zip` or `other`), `mrfSizeBytes`, `mrfLastModified`, `mrfHttpStatus`, `checkedAt` (ISO timestamp). `mrfSizeBytes`, `mrfLastModified` and `mrfHttpStatus` are `null` when `checkFileHeaders` is off.

### Pricing

Pay per event. You are charged **$5.00 per 1,000 results** saved to the dataset, plus a fraction of a cent per run start. Each row costs 2 to 3 requests (the index file, plus a HEAD request per machine-readable file), so the price is higher than a single-request-per-result Actor. Nothing is charged for results you do not receive. Set "Max total charge per run" in the run options to cap spending on any run.

Rough guide: 1,000 results cost $5.00 and take about 550 seconds.

### Use it from an AI agent (MCP)

This Actor is available as an MCP tool through the Apify MCP server. Add it to your client, then ask the agent for the data in plain language.

Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor (`mcp.json` / `claude_desktop_config.json`):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?actors=brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}
```

ChatGPT and other clients that support remote MCP servers: add `https://mcp.apify.com/?actors=brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder` as a connector with your Apify token.

Example prompt once connected: "Check whether Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic publish their CMS price transparency files and tell me the format and size of each machine-readable file."

### Use it from code

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/brightpath-data~hospital-price-transparency-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domains":["mayoclinic.org","clevelandclinic.org"],"checkFileHeaders":true,"maxResults":50}'
```

Python:

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder").call(run_input={"domains": ["mayoclinic.org", "clevelandclinic.org"], "checkFileHeaders": True, "maxResults": 50})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
```

### Limits and fair use

- Up to 2,000 rows per run.
- Requests are paced at one per 200 ms.
- A hospital that publishes no file, or whose file cannot be parsed, still produces exactly one row so it is not silently skipped.
- One domain's failure (timeout, DNS error, block page) never fails the whole run; it is recorded as `missing` and the run continues.
- Only the small text index and file headers are fetched. The (often large) price files themselves are never downloaded.

### Data source and legal

CMS regulation 45 CFR 180 requires every US hospital to publicly publish machine-readable price files and a standard `cms-hpt.txt` index since 2024. This Actor only reads that public index file and the HTTP headers of the files it lists; it never bypasses a login, paywall or access control, and it never downloads the full price files. You are responsible for how you use the data.

### Support

Found a problem or need a field added? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab. Fixes for broken runs are prioritized.

# Actor input Schema

## `domains` (type: `array`):

Bare domains to check, without "https://" or "www.", e.g. \["mayoclinic.org", "clevelandclinic.org"]. Each domain can produce several rows (one per hospital location listed in its file).

## `checkFileHeaders` (type: `boolean`):

When on, sends a HEAD request to each machine-readable file URL to record its content type, size and last-modified date. Turn off for a faster, cheaper run that only lists the file locations.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of location rows to save across all domains. You are charged per row saved, so this also caps the cost of a run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "mayoclinic.org",
    "clevelandclinic.org"
  ],
  "checkFileHeaders": true,
  "maxResults": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

The dataset with one flat record per result. Append ?format=csv or ?format=xlsx to the URL for other formats.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

OUTPUT record in the key-value store: counts of results pushed and charged, requests, retries and duration.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domains": [
        "mayoclinic.org",
        "clevelandclinic.org"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "domains": [
        "mayoclinic.org",
        "clevelandclinic.org",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domains": [
    "mayoclinic.org",
    "clevelandclinic.org"
  ]
}' |
apify call brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,brightpath-data/hospital-price-transparency-finder"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/JkozONd697qABgxHA/builds/Wl9BAO7ocHatqowLk/openapi.json