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.

Pollster Who Had Thanksgiving-Hating Socialist Up 23 Points Closes Up Shop, Admits to Bungling Wisconsin Race

Colorado black bear dies after becoming trapped inside unlocked car for days: report

The False Moderates, Part 3: Dems Want to Turn Iowa into Illinois, And They’ve Found the Perfect Candidate

Manhunt intensifies for armed woman after veteran Massachusetts police officer found dead at home

Clarence Thomas chokes up as he reveals promise he made after grandparents’ sudden deaths

Ex-counterterrorism chief advocates for Trump to ‘walk away from’ Iran war, yank troops out of Middle East

Trump says he will meet with Kim Jong Un ‘later this year’

US ally on Putin’s doorstep braces for war as Russia tensions take ominous turn

GoFundMe for Lindsay Clancy Family Skyrockets as Clancy’s Mom Reveals Her Daughter Begged to Sleep With Her at Night

New York grandmother vanishes in Las Vegas as family gets mysterious texts from her phone asking for Bitcoin

Watch: ESPN Botches On-Air Tribute to Network’s Founder on the Day of His Death

Zelensky’s fired defense minister mounts political challenge by demanding new elections

Alert: Trump Resurrects Keystone XL Pipeline in Cryptic Truth Social Post, Moments After Announcing Trade Deal With Canada

They’re Back: Another Socialist Scores Upset Dem Primary Victory in Critical Senate Race

The people trying to kill Trump are kooks, resistance maniacs, and Iranians: Byron York

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.