Finance News Opinons

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.


Mamdani clashes with rivals in fiery debate less than three weeks before NYC chooses next mayor
Erika Kirk shows TPUSA staff Charlie’s Medal of Freedom: ‘You guys are all part of the legacy’
NYC schools sue Education Department over nearly $50M in grant cuts due to transgender policies
National Guard not welcome: NYC mayoral candidates come out strong against troop deployments
Jones and Miyares clash over murder texts as Dem repeatedly invokes Trump at heated, high-stakes debate
Jason Miyares hammers Jay Jones over leaked texts during Virginia attorney general debate
Watch: AOC and Bernie Sanders Flip Out on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Over Chuck Schumer Question
Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed’ Newsletter: Hostages’ ‘deep and lasting effects’ revealed
Dem school board chair drops Senate bid after ‘radical empathy’ backlash over illegal immigrant superintendent
John Bolton Slapped with 18 Counts Under the Espionage Act: DOJ Drops Full 26-Page Indictment
Video shows gunman ‘lying in wait’ to ambush businessman outside estate as police hunt shooter: prosecutor
Dem Running for Senate in Maine as a Humble Veteran Called Himself a ‘Communist’ and Painted Rural Whites as Stupid and Racist Online
Pope Leo XIV appoints Chicago’s Cardinal Cupich to Vatican City’s governing commission
Smartmatic charged in alleged scheme to bribe election officials in Philippines
Admiral Overseeing Southern Command Steps Down Amid Strikes on Narco-Terrorists in the Caribbean
See also  Trump bets on Kushner and Witkoff to see through Israel and Hamas peace deal

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.


Mamdani clashes with rivals in fiery debate less than three weeks before NYC chooses next mayor
Erika Kirk shows TPUSA staff Charlie’s Medal of Freedom: ‘You guys are all part of the legacy’
NYC schools sue Education Department over nearly $50M in grant cuts due to transgender policies
National Guard not welcome: NYC mayoral candidates come out strong against troop deployments
Jones and Miyares clash over murder texts as Dem repeatedly invokes Trump at heated, high-stakes debate
Jason Miyares hammers Jay Jones over leaked texts during Virginia attorney general debate
Watch: AOC and Bernie Sanders Flip Out on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Over Chuck Schumer Question
Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed’ Newsletter: Hostages’ ‘deep and lasting effects’ revealed
Dem school board chair drops Senate bid after ‘radical empathy’ backlash over illegal immigrant superintendent
John Bolton Slapped with 18 Counts Under the Espionage Act: DOJ Drops Full 26-Page Indictment
Video shows gunman ‘lying in wait’ to ambush businessman outside estate as police hunt shooter: prosecutor
Dem Running for Senate in Maine as a Humble Veteran Called Himself a ‘Communist’ and Painted Rural Whites as Stupid and Racist Online
Pope Leo XIV appoints Chicago’s Cardinal Cupich to Vatican City’s governing commission
Smartmatic charged in alleged scheme to bribe election officials in Philippines
Admiral Overseeing Southern Command Steps Down Amid Strikes on Narco-Terrorists in the Caribbean
See also  Shutdown delays major rulings in cases against Trump administration

The president used his remarks to also take shots at former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act as well as 2020 presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders and his “Medicare for all” plan. Sanders’ plan would replace job-based and individual private health insurance with a government-run plan that guarantees coverage for all with no premiums, deductibles and minimal copays for certain services.

“Democrats in Congress support Bernie Sanders’ socialist takedown of American health care,” Trump said. “Under my administration, we will not let that happen.”

Story cited here.

 

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter