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.”
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