Trump signs price transparency executive order

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday (Feb 25) aiming to improve price transparency on healthcare costs by directing federal agencies to strictly enforce a 2019 order he signed during his first term.

The order directs the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to within 90 days come up with a framework to enforce Trump's 2019 executive order forcing health insurers and hospitals to disclose healthcare cost details.

This includes requiring the disclosure of actual prices not estimates, update existing guidance or proposing new regulations that ensure price information is standardised, and updating or issuing enforcement policies that guarantee compliance.

"You're not allowed to even talk about it when you're going to a hospital or see a doctor. And this allows you to go out and talk about it," Trump told reporters as he signed the order. "It's been unpopular in some circles because people make less money, but it's great for the patient."

Trump's initial 2019 order required hospitals to maintain a consumer-friendly display of pricing information for up to 300 shoppable services and a machine-readable file with negotiated rates for every single service a hospital provides.

It required health plans to post their negotiated rates with providers, their out-of-network payments to providers, and the actual prices they or their pharmacy benefit manager pay for prescription drugs; and to maintain a consumer-facing internet tool making price information accessible.

It was strongly opposed by hospital groups who unsuccessfully challenged it in court. They argue it forces them to disclose private negotiations with insurers, undermining competition and violating their First Amendment free speech rights, a claim rejected by the court.