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https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-issue-executive-order-on-health-care-price-transparency-11561051500

Trump to Issue Executive Order on Health-Care Price Transparency

The president on Monday will call for insurers and doctors to disclose new details about the cost of care, a move that industry groups have resisted

By Stephanie Armour
Updated June 20, 2019 5:17 pm ET
President Trump plans to issue an executive order Monday to compel the disclosure of prices in health care, according to people familiar with the matter.

The order will direct federal agencies to initiate regulations and guidance that could require insurers, doctors, hospitals and others in the industry to provide information about the negotiated and often discounted cost of care, sources said.

Consumers and employers will benefit because pulling back the secrecy around the prices will allow them to shop for lower cost care and benefits, advocates say.

But industry groups including hospitals and insurers have balked at the idea, saying it could cause costs to climb if some businesses learn competitors are getting bigger discounts. They also say consumers really want to know their own out-of-pocket costs and won’t benefit from full disclosure of negotiated prices.

The executive order has the support of a number of doctors who on Thursday urged the administration to push ahead on disclosure of prices. “We, signing independently, are 3,969 physicians who make caring for patients our professional priority,” according to a letter Thursday from doctors and doctor practices to Mr. Trump and viewed by The Wall Street Journal. “We are distressed and disheartened by how America’s healthcare system is failing them.”

“I am all for it,” Maine’s independent Sen. Angus King said. “It’s an important step toward making health care a real market. I know of no other business where you have no idea what something’s going to cost, and you can’t find out even if you ask.”

The order comes as Mr. Trump, who announced his re-election campaign Tuesday, ramps up his messaging about health care in the run up to the 2020 presidential vote. In a recent ABC News interview, Mr. Trump reiterated a pledge he’d made in April to release a new health plan.

The White House believes it has authority to compel disclosure under a variety of tools, including the 21st Century Cures Act and the Affordable Care Act. Insurers could be compelled to disclose prices under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Employee Retirement Income Security Act, according to people familiar with the matter.

It’s unclear how aggressive the order will be because of the pushback from industry, and some White House advisers who have urged a more measured approach, sources said.

Eighty-eight percent of voters said they favor a government initiative mandating that insurers, hospitals, doctors and other providers disclose the cost of their services and discounted or negotiated rates, according to a May survey by the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard and the Harris Poll.

The Department of Health and Human Services has also sought public comment on a proposed outpatient hospital rule regarding whether patients have a right to see the discounted prices in advance of obtaining care. That rule is expected by the end of July.