Executive Order Forces Hospitals to Reveal True Prices Now
Published Date: 2/28/2025
Presidential Document
Summary
This new order makes healthcare prices clear and easy to find for patients and employers across America. Hospitals and health plans must share detailed, upfront costs for services and drugs, helping everyone shop smarter and save money. These changes aim to cut healthcare costs by billions by 2025, making care more affordable and fair for all.
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Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Hospitals and Plans Must Post Prices
Hospitals must keep a consumer-friendly display of pricing for up to 300 shoppable services and a machine-readable file with negotiated rates for every service. Health plans must post their negotiated rates with providers, their out-of-network payments to providers, the actual prices they or their pharmacy benefit manager pay for prescription drugs, and keep a consumer-facing internet tool for price access.
Require Actual Prices, Not Estimates
Within 90 days of February 25, 2025, the Secretaries of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services must take action to require disclosure of the actual prices of items and services, not estimates. This means patients and employers should be able to see the real price that will be charged rather than a rough guess.
Transparency Could Cut Healthcare Costs Significantly
The order cites an economic analysis estimating transparency regulations, if fully implemented, could yield as much as $80 billion in healthcare savings for consumers, employers, and insurers by 2025, and a report suggesting employers could reduce costs by 27 percent across 500 common services. Recent data cited shows the top 25 percent most expensive service prices fell 6.3 percent per year after initial transparency steps.
Standardize Prices to Make Comparison Easy
Within 90 days of February 25, 2025, the same Secretaries must issue updated guidance or proposed rules to make pricing information standardized and easily comparable across hospitals and health plans. The goal is to let patients and employers compare prices side-by-side.
Stronger Enforcement of Transparency Rules
Within 90 days of February 25, 2025, the Secretaries must issue guidance or proposed rules updating enforcement policies to ensure complete, accurate, and meaningful price reporting. The Federal Government will increase enforcement of price transparency requirements.
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