The Trump administration is cracking down on healthcare pricing ambiguity, warning more than 500 hospitals to establish transparent pricing plans and disclose basic pricing information to the public.
According to The Associated Press (AP), the White House argues that these institutions are failing to provide clear information, which enables higher-than-usual healthcare costs.
Anonymous Source Provides List Of Hospitals Warned
An anonymous senior administration official exclusively provided AP with the list of hospitals that have received warning letters and, in some instances, “requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing.”
Within the list, the Trump administration issued 21 letters to hospitals across Florida.
Each recipient that fails to establish a plan to disclose transparent pricing data may face penalties of upwards of $2 million.
The administration intends to reform a pivotal issue in the healthcare system that results in insurers, employers, and patients paying more than they should on services such as blood work and imaging testing.
Trump's Prior Executive Order Tackling Healthcare
The senior official informed AP that the White House plans to fortify enforcement of price transparency standards through a 2019 executive order signed by President Trump.
The directive urged hospitals to disclose the actual prices for common tests and procedures and required healthcare institutions to inform patients in advance of their deductibles and copay for procedures.
Initiative Will Reportedly Help Health Policy Employees More than Consumers
According to senior vice president and director of health policy organization KFF, Gary Claxton, improved standards in transparent pricing data can make it difficult to establish accurate comparisons about the costs and quality of services being provided.
“There’s a pretty widespread belief that prices are more divergent than they should be in a competitive market — and this is one way of trying to understand that more,” Claxton said, arguing that the initiative helps benefit consultants and others in the health care sector with access to further information than it would be for the consumer.
“It’s moving in the right direction, but that doesn’t mean it has gotten to where it needs to be,” Claxton added.
