Trump Signs Executive Order Calling For Upfront Disclosure Of Hospital Costs

President Trump on Monday signed an executive order demanding the upfront disclosure by hospitals of the actual prices for common tests and procedures.

Trump’s order also requires that patients be told ahead of time what their out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and copays will be for many procedures.

“This landmark initiative continues our work to put American patients first,” Trump said during remarks at the White House before signing the order. “We are fundamentally changing the nature of the health care marketplace.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters before Trump’s remarks that the idea is to give patients practical information that they can use to help save money. For example, if a hospital charges your insurer $3,500 for a type of echocardiogram and the same test costs $550 in a doctor’s office, you might go for the lower-price procedure to save on copays.

The executive order calls for a rule-making process by federal agencies, which typically takes months or even years. The details of what information will have to be disclosed and how it will be made available to patients must be worked out as part of writing the regulations. That will involve a complex give-and-take with hospitals, insurers and others affected. Consumers will have to wait to see whether the results live up to the administration’s promises.

Tlaib moves to block ICE airport arrests, says TSA helping target immigrants

Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon as Rome peace talks continue

Exclusive: Grieving mom reveals deadly cost of illegal immigration as daughter’s killer seeks parole

‘Oxferd Comma’ investigation being declassified by White House, with John Solomon briefing

Putin selects commander to lead new drone warfare branch of Russian military

Trump Declares El-Sayed’s Michigan Win ‘Great News for the Republican Party’

Republican who reportedly dropped out defeats Trump’s pick in key swing-district primary

Republicans move to oust embattled Florida GOP lawmaker in bitter primary fight

Musk Issues Stark Counter-Threat After Mamdani Team Member Declared Him ‘Valid Military Target’ According to Report

House Republican Ends Re-Election Campaign After Ethics Committee Recommends Censure

SpaceX Rocket Collides with Moon at 5,400 MPH

Details on Heavily Armed Person Roaming Golf Course Before Trump Visit Emerge, Notebook Seized

Disturbing: Gossip Columnist Perez Hilton Hospitalized After Harming Self on TikTok Live Stream

Takeaways from crucial primary elections across the country and more top headlines

Suspects in deadly Connecticut home invasion arrested in attack that rocked beach town

Lack of information on health care prices is a widespread problem . It’s confusing for patients, and experts say it’s also one of the major factors that push up U.S. costs. The same test or procedure, in the same city, can cost widely different amounts depending on who is performing it and who is paying the bill. Hospital list prices, which are available, don’t reflect what they actually get paid by insurers and government programs.

The health insurance industry said disclosing negotiated prices will only encourage hospitals that are now providing deeper discounts to try to raise their rates to match the top-tier facilities. “Publicly disclosing competitively negotiated proprietary rates will reduce competition and push prices higher — not lower — for consumers, patients, and taxpayers,” Matt Eyles, head of the industry group America’s Health Insurance Plans, said in a statement.

While the prices Medicare pays are publicly available, private insurers’ negotiated rates generally are not. Industry officials say such contractual information is tantamount to trade secrets and should remain private.

Azar pushed back against that argument, saying insurers do ultimately disclose their payment rates when they send individual patients an “explanation of benefits.” That’s the technical term for the form that patients get after they’ve had a procedure or seen the doctor.