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.
‘Woke’ Smithsonian exhibit lionizes embattled Fauci amid conservative scrutiny of museum’s messaging
Trump accused China of an ‘election security nightmare’ but then undercut his own warning
Here’s What We Know About Key Questions Fauci Refused to Answer
How the Big Beautiful Bill became law: Trump the closer
Man sentenced to 6 months in jail for ramming car into Jewish group’s world headquarters in New York
Trump admin invokes 30-year dormant terror court as it seeks to deport Afghan woman tied to Election Day plot
Lindsay Clancy prosecutors ‘squeeze’ timeline from ex-husband as jury weighs ‘murder versus madness’: expert
Army conducts first overseas test of ‘Hammer of the Gods’ weapon-disrupting system
Grandmother’s missed pickup leads to grim discovery in church parking lot
Clinton, Obama-era Democratic heavyweights Penn and Emanuel rip NYC’s Mamdani over taxes, Israel, blast DSA
Revealed: The DNC Lost Almost $30k to Email Scammer – No Word Yet if the Employee Was DEI or the Scammer Was a Deposed Nigerian Prince
Breaking: US Launches Airstrikes in Iran, Saudi Arabia Joins in as Iran Is Pushed to ‘Tipping Point’
DOJ suffers setback in New Jersey voter roll lawsuit despite illegal registrants scandal
Watch: Sen. Josh Hawley Illustrates the Absurdity of Fauci’s Hearing Stunt with 3 Questions
Trump AG pick Blanche stalled as key Republicans refuse to budge
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.
‘Woke’ Smithsonian exhibit lionizes embattled Fauci amid conservative scrutiny of museum’s messaging
Trump accused China of an ‘election security nightmare’ but then undercut his own warning
Here’s What We Know About Key Questions Fauci Refused to Answer
How the Big Beautiful Bill became law: Trump the closer
Man sentenced to 6 months in jail for ramming car into Jewish group’s world headquarters in New York
Trump admin invokes 30-year dormant terror court as it seeks to deport Afghan woman tied to Election Day plot
Lindsay Clancy prosecutors ‘squeeze’ timeline from ex-husband as jury weighs ‘murder versus madness’: expert
Army conducts first overseas test of ‘Hammer of the Gods’ weapon-disrupting system
Grandmother’s missed pickup leads to grim discovery in church parking lot
Clinton, Obama-era Democratic heavyweights Penn and Emanuel rip NYC’s Mamdani over taxes, Israel, blast DSA
Revealed: The DNC Lost Almost $30k to Email Scammer – No Word Yet if the Employee Was DEI or the Scammer Was a Deposed Nigerian Prince
Breaking: US Launches Airstrikes in Iran, Saudi Arabia Joins in as Iran Is Pushed to ‘Tipping Point’
DOJ suffers setback in New Jersey voter roll lawsuit despite illegal registrants scandal
Watch: Sen. Josh Hawley Illustrates the Absurdity of Fauci’s Hearing Stunt with 3 Questions
Trump AG pick Blanche stalled as key Republicans refuse to budge
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.
