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.

Illinois worker spent over six hours trapped in gas station sign too tall for fire truck ladders to reach

Purported Nancy Guthrie note includes unusual demand that breaks basic ransom rule: retired FBI negotiator

Secret Service offers glimpse into WHCA Dinner security after alleged Trump assassination attempt

French Modeling Scout with Ties to Epstein Found Dead Near Paris

Boasberg delivers fresh immigration setback to Trump in free-speech clash

‘So Devastated’: Hollywood Stars Mourn Death of 18-Year-Old Actress

Academics and CEOs dominate Fed advisory boards

28 for ’28: The open presidential race field could reach more than two dozen candidates

Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ is clumsy, anachronistic, and badly acted

China’s routing of Biden in chip war with US created a communist tech giant

Witnesses recount ‘scary’ NYC stabbing after suspect allegedly yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ during attacks

Multiple injured after floatplane makes emergency landing, catches fire off Washington coast

California mayor’s hot mic catches candid exchange after audience sends meeting off rails

Never Forget Dems Supported Large-Scale Deportations Until Trump Took Up the Issue – Just Listen to What Obama Said in 2014

Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman admits to sufficient facts in June drunken driving case

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.