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.

Oil-Rich California Relies on Fuel Imported from the Bahamas as Gas Prices Surge

Trump says ‘this is a Democrat shutdown’ as he touts low inflation, falling murder rate

Teen killed after protecting friends in ‘senseless’ shootout as locals raise alarm over rising crime in Bronx

Trump withholds endorsement for Texas Senate GOP primary

Thune guarantees voter ID bill to hit the Senate despite Schumer, Dem opposition: ‘We will have a vote’

Swalwell’s ‘I should be working’ gym, pool videos resurface as Dem rival hammers his missed House votes

Anderson Cooper announces 60 Minutes departure amid CBS shake-ups

Oregon Could Vote to Ban Hunting and Fishing – Proposed Law Would Classify Both as Cruelty to Animals

Tom Emmer blasts Democrats’ double standard on SAVE Act: ‘They require photo IDs’ at their own DNC

GOP reaches key 50-vote threshold for Trump-backed voter ID bill as Senate fight looms

At least two dead after ‘targeted’ shooting at Rhode Island hockey game

Indiana school secretary charged after husband finds her with student, probe reveals affair with another: cops

China pledges aid to Ukraine as US officials warn Beijing is quietly fueling Russia’s war

ICE sweeps up convicted pedophiles, traffickers in massive holiday weekend sting: ‘Worst of the worst’

Former FBI analyst believes Guthrie suspect is amateur criminal, Savannah’s latest message tailored to him

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.