Healthcare stocks take a hit after Trump order

Healthcare stocks are reeling following an executive order from President Trump that would give HHS the ability to require hospitals and health insurance companies to provide patients with prices for healthcare services based on negotiated rates. The idea is to make healthcare more “shoppable,” but healthcare providers are not enthused by the idea.

Stocks of major healthcare insurers, including UnitedHealth Group, Humana, Cigna and Anthem all fell in the aftermath of the news, according to Zacks. Hospital stocks, including Community Health Systems and Tenet Healthcare, took bigger hits, with drops of 5.17% and 2.57%, respectively, on Tuesday.

The administration has already finalized a new requirement to make drugmakers publish the list prices of pharmaceuticals in TV advertisements, but most patients with health insurance end up paying negotiated prices.

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Amy Baxter

Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."

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Given the precarious excitement of the moment—or is it exciting precarity?—policymakers and healthcare leaders must set directives guiding not only what to do with AI but also when to do it. 

The final list also included diabetes drugs sold by Boehringer Ingelheim and Merck. The first round of drug price negotiations reduced the Medicare prices for 10 popular drugs by up to 79%. 

HHS has thought through the ways AI can and should become an integral part of healthcare, human services and public health. Last Friday—possibly just days ahead of seating a new secretary—the agency released a detailed plan for getting there from here.