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.

Dems provide Republicans key votes to advance Trump-backed funding package

Hunter Biden Argues He’s Not Legally Obligated to Communicate with His 7-Year-Old Daughter in New Court Filing

Trump files $10B lawsuit against IRS over alleged tax return leaks to major news outlets

Social justice advocate once named Bostonian of the Year sentenced in fraud case

Man Arrested While Allegedly Attempting to Break Luigi Mangione Out of Prison by Posing as an FBI Agent

Judges weigh Title IX funding fight over Virginia schools’ pro-transgender bathroom policies

Anti-ICE agitators mistake TSA air marshals for ICE agents, heckle them at Los Angeles-area restaurant

‘Zizian’ suspect to represent self at trial as other associates derail murder case

Dem Governor’s Attempt to Frame JD Vance’s Holocaust Remembrance Day Post as Anti-Semitic Backfires

Virginia Democrats seek dozens of new tax hikes, including on dog walking and dry cleaning

FIRST ON FOX: FEMA unleashes $2.2B in disaster relief funding across 25 states: ‘Cutting red tape’

Homan Promises ‘Justice is Coming’ to Those Funding and Organizing Interference with ICE Operations in Minneapolis

Police confirm investigation into anti-ICE Virginia Commonwealth nurse who encouraged drugging agents

No questions and format shift: Four takeaways from first Trump Cabinet meeting of the year

Wild video captures tire flying off British Airways plane moments after takeoff in Las Vegas

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.