President Donald Trump will call for increased transparency in the prices charged by U.S. hospitals in an executive order to be signed Monday afternoon.
The federal regulations to be called for by Trump would push forward a relatively simple idea: that patients should know how much hospitals charge for common procedures. Those prices are typically trade secrets between hospitals and the insurers they negotiate with.
Details of the executive order were described by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. The department will be responsible for drafting regulations on the price disclosures. The effort is likely to face significant pushback from the hospital industry.
“Every day American patients are being taken advantage of by a system that hides critical information from them,” Azar said on a conference call with reporters.
The Trump administration has advocated for bringing down health-care costs by making prices more visible, boosting competition and reducing regulation. Trump has also called on Congress to pass legislation to stop surprise billing, while major pharmaceutical companies are revealing drug prices online in a bid to stave off pressure from the administration.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.