Trump gives HHS 90 days to create healthcare price transparency plan
President Donald Trump signed another executive order on Tuesday aimed at further improving healthcare price transparency, building upon legislation passed during his first term.
The order directs federal agencies to strictly enforce existing rules designed to ensure patients understand the cost of care, and it directly references a 2019 executive order from Trump. According to this update, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are tasked with developing a framework within 90 days to ensure that health insurers and hospitals are transparent about what they pay and charge for services.
Trump is also instructing the agencies to develop a standard to ensure pricing information is up-to-date as part of their system to ensure hospitals and insurers comply with federal law.
The executive order aims to eliminate estimates and force healthcare institutions to operate under business models that disclose the actual cost of patient care.
This aligns with the spirit of Trump’s 2019 executive order, which required hospitals to display pricing information. However, that rule was limited to 300 services, and other services were still delivered at negotiable rates.
To close the loop, insurers were instructed to post their negotiated rates with providers online and be forthcoming about what they actually pay for drugs and services.
Despite a federal court upholding these conditions, compliance has been inconsistent. With this update, Trump may seal some of the gaps.
"You're not allowed to even talk about it when you're going to a hospital or seeing a doctor. And this allows you to go out and talk about it," the President said as he signed the order. "It's been unpopular in some circles because people make less money, but it's great for the patient."
In many respects, this expanded rule also builds upon the No Surprises Act, which curbed overcharging and was passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which Trump signed in December 2020.
The clock on the 90 days to build a new framework to enforce transparency laws began on Tuesday.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.