On Feb. 25, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeted at boosting healthcare price transparency.
Here are five other notes on the conversation surrounding price transparency for ASC leaders and physicians under the second Trump administration:
1. The order directs HHS and the Labor and Treasury departments to “rapidly implement and enforce” healthcare price transparency enforcement regulations. The order refers to regulations that President Trump introduced during his first term, which he said the Biden administration was “slow walking,” according to a Feb. 25 White House fact sheet.
2. The departments will ensure hospitals and payers disclose actual prices, not estimates, and take action to “make prices comparable across hospitals and insurers, including prescription drug prices.”
3. HHS, Labor and Treasury will also update their respective enforcement policies to ensure hospitals and insurers are in compliance with requirements.
4. Other data points to increased pressure on health plans to be more transparent on pricing. A new report analyzing healthcare spending trends within New York City’s employee health plan says there are significant gaps in data because Anthem Blue Cross reportedly refused to release complete pricing information.
5. Pressure to increase price transparency efforts is also coming from patients. “Patients are becoming more cost-conscious and seeking out options that provide better value. Most ASCs are more cost-effective than hospitals for certain procedures,” Sean Gipson, division CEO and president of Remedy Surgery Center in Hurst, Texas, told Becker’s. “However, to remain competitive, the ASC must maintain transparent pricing, improve operational efficiency and ensure high-quality care. ASCs that can demonstrate these qualities are better positioned to attract patients.”
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