President Trump E.O. to Force Healthcare Providers - Insurers to Show Retail and Negotiated Prices.

May 29, 2019

This could be great news for those who have several hospitals, doctors, and health insurance companies to choose from.

President Trump plans to unveil and sign an executive order as soon as this week that would require healthcare companies to disclose their prices.

The move follows a new Health and Human Services (HHS) Department rule requiring that drug companies disclose their products’ prices on their television ads.

The most far-reaching element favored by the White House aides developing the order, would require insurers and hospitals to disclose for the first time the discounted rates they negotiate for services, according to health-care lobbyists and policy experts familiar with the deliberations.

The Trump administration reportedly will also look at using agencies such as the Justice Department to tackle regional monopolies of hospitals and health insurance plans over concerns that their market concentration in the healthcare markets drive up costs.

Trump’s reported actions to tackle America’s rising healthcare cost arise as Trump said that he will unveil his “great healthcare plan” in June; the president has promised that the Republican party will become the party of health care. Trump tapped Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Rick Scott (R-LA) to develop a comprehensive healthcare plan.

Source #1: www.breitbart.com...
Source #2: www.msn.com...

In a truly free-market industry, price transparency is a good thing. Unfortunately, when it comes to healthcare, it's COMPLICATED and is often driven more by urgent human need, than leisurely shopping around.

You rarely can control what hospital the ambulance takes you to. And if you're a bad accident, or in great pain, you will want to get to the closest hospital, no matter what it charges. Also, a hospital bill is composed of lots of charges. It's impossible to know what treatments you'll need for recovery.

BUT...for those who need a specific test(s), transparency is great! Here in Chicago, doctors associated with a particular hospital group send their patients to a place that charges $7,200 for a CAT Scan. That same scan is available for $600 just 1/4 mile away. Right now, you have to dig pretty hard to learn this. But forced price transparency will make it easier to find and compare. (The $600 place will have a longer wait time, but many patients won't mind.)

So what do you think ATS? There's really no "down side" to hospital and insurance company price transparency, is there?

BTW...as Source #2 states, the Medical and Insurance Industries are gearing up to fight this Executive Order the moment President Trump signs it.

-CareWeMust

I think it needs to happen. I think it should have happened long ago.

As you say, you can't control it always, but for some things you can. There are always scheduled procedures like my mom's upcoming knee replacement that you can shop around with and weigh all your pros and cons along with your price.

a reply to: carewemust
Love it .....I try to avoid the Dr. at all cost because the cost keep changing.
😜

That was in his campaign trail 12 point health care plan .


Promise number ???? kept ?

I can’t keep track anymore but I know it’s one hell of a lot .

originally posted by: carewemust
May 29, 2019

This could be great news for those who have several hospitals, doctors, and health insurance companies to choose from.

President Trump plans to unveil and sign an executive order as soon as this week that would require healthcare companies to disclose their prices.

The move follows a new Health and Human Services (HHS) Department rule requiring that drug companies disclose their products’ prices on their television ads.

The most far-reaching element favored by the White House aides developing the order, would require insurers and hospitals to disclose for the first time the discounted rates they negotiate for services, according to health-care lobbyists and policy experts familiar with the deliberations.

The Trump administration reportedly will also look at using agencies such as the Justice Department to tackle regional monopolies of hospitals and health insurance plans over concerns that their market concentration in the healthcare markets drive up costs.

Trump’s reported actions to tackle America’s rising healthcare cost arise as Trump said that he will unveil his “great healthcare plan” in June; the president has promised that the Republican party will become the party of health care. Trump tapped Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Rick Scott (R-LA) to develop a comprehensive healthcare plan.

Source #1: www.breitbart.com...
Source #2: www.msn.com...

In a truly free-market industry, price transparency is a good thing. Unfortunately, when it comes to healthcare, it's COMPLICATED and is often driven more by urgent human need, than leisurely shopping around.

You rarely can control what hospital the ambulance takes you to. And if you're a bad accident, or in great pain, you will want to get to the closest hospital, no matter what it charges. Also, a hospital bill is composed of lots of charges. It's impossible to know what treatments you'll need for recovery.

BUT...for those who need a specific test(s), transparency is great! Here in Chicago, doctors associated with a particular hospital group send their patients to a place that charges $7,200 for a CAT Scan. That same scan is available for $600 just 1/4 mile away. Right now, you have to dig pretty hard to learn this. But forced price transparency will make it easier to find and compare. (The $600 place will have a longer wait time, but many patients won't mind.)

So what do you think ATS? There's really no "down side" to hospital and insurance company price transparency, is there?

BTW...as Source #2 states, the Medical and Insurance Industries are gearing up to fight this Executive Order the moment President Trump signs it.

-CareWeMust

This will help but the big problem is still that insurance acts as a third party payer so the consumer has little incentive to shop around for the best prices for routine medical care. People have been conditioned to only want to pay their "co-pay" for normal doctor visits, so they have no interest in what it actually cost for the services rendered.

It is only once they find out insurance doesn't cover something that price becomes a focal point. If people were forced to pay out of pocket for routine care, prices would drop like a rock.

I did a thread a few months back where I said there is some financial shenanigans going on with insurance companies and medical providers. On several occasions, I've found lower prices if I just buy something on my own than through insurance. The example I used was CPAP supplies. The bill my insurance gets from their provider is like twice as expensive compared to me just buying the stuff myself on Amazon. This makes no sense as to why my insurance provider would want to over pay for something unless there is some type of kickback going on somewhere.

This is good news.

The medical bureaucrats are probably writhing like snakes in a pit when learning about this. How can they manipulate prices now? Mark things up 3000% just to profit in the multi-billions per quarter? (instead of tens of billions)

I anticipate some sort of market correction from this news. (they all play from the same book)
But I want to see more security in pricing.

a reply to: Edumakated

I dont really see listing the prices as anything to get excited about for the reason you listed.

Also in an emergency you dont have time to shop nor care for discounts. In non emergency do you want to pick your doctor or specialist based on price or cheapest doctor? What is really going to be listed in the price?


Just like the warning labels on everything and the speed talker * in car radio ads , the public will become immune to it.


In regards to the cost of going through insurance vs not, the insurance are ussualy billed numerous things and at a higher cost because they come back and offer to pay less on some things.

a reply to: interupt42

If you are not excited, then you either do not use private insurance (you have government or somebody else pays) or you never use it.

Let me give you an example. You need an ultrasound on you abdomen, the doctor refers you to his affiliated hospital. When you ask the hospital how much, they tell you your share after insurance is $450.00.

You then ask what the hell are they charging the insurance company and they refuse to tell you.

You then find out what the procedure really cost... How you ask? Because someone has posted the real price.

www.covenanthealth.com...

You can then tell the hospital to shove it when you can pay $15 bucks (after insurance picks up 90%) at a local imaging center.

Yeah, it makes one hell of a difference if you know what the prices are.

a reply to: Edumakated

I think they haggle, the docs and insurers.

Because they haggle, the opening charge is ridiculous because it is assumed the insurer will throw back a counter offer. Like all haggling games, each side hopes the actual price paid ends up near the cost, but more in their favor. That's why, if your insurer/medical provider dramas are like ours, you can get multiple rounds of bills for the same service that all say "Do Not Pay This Amount" and then you get so used to it that the one they actually want you to pay can fall through the cracks.

a reply to: infolurker


If you are in pain or need medical assitance and dr orders an ultrasound and u have private insurance all you care about is your copay and is it covered like edumaked stated.

If you dont have private insurance then maybe you would care as long as its nothing urgent ,critical or important.

Plus the industry is run by oligopolies and everyones price will be fixed among each other nyways.

Most people dont or wont shop for healtcare like if they are buying a car.

The whole system is fd and i dont see this as a big game changer. Hopefuly im wrong but decades of a govt riddled with conflict of interest trying to fixi itself gives me good betting odds this a distraction

Best president ever

originally posted by: ketsuko
I think it needs to happen. I think it should have happened long ago.
As you say, you can't control it always, but for some things you can. There are always scheduled procedures like my mom's upcoming knee replacement that you can shop around with and weigh all your pros and cons along with your price.

It's important to weigh price against the rating of the hospital/surgeon too.

It will (probably) end up not working the way you'd think it will (or would want it to) but it's a nice move anyway. My whole argument against Obamacare was based on the fact that healthcare just costs too much (Artificially inflated prices enabled by the general desperation of the average customer and their willingness to join the health insurance racket in order to spread out the cost). That's why it's not affordable. Fix that and then figure out how to help the poor pay for it if they still can't afford it.

originally posted by: carewemust

originally posted by: ketsuko
I think it needs to happen. I think it should have happened long ago.
As you say, you can't control it always, but for some things you can. There are always scheduled procedures like my mom's upcoming knee replacement that you can shop around with and weigh all your pros and cons along with your price.

It's important to weigh price against the rating of the hospital/surgeon too.

Exactly. That's what I meant by pros and cons. I always do the big ticket item research in this house. My husband doesn't have the patience for it. He gives me the price range, and I go out and research what we need, what's available, and our options. We seldom end up with the absolute cheapest on offer. It's more of a balance of factors.

And yes, quality would need to play a part. You want to best you can afford balanced against what's clearly overly inflated.

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: carewemust

originally posted by: ketsuko
I think it needs to happen. I think it should have happened long ago.
As you say, you can't control it always, but for some things you can. There are always scheduled procedures like my mom's upcoming knee replacement that you can shop around with and weigh all your pros and cons along with your price.

It's important to weigh price against the rating of the hospital/surgeon too.

Exactly. That's what I meant by pros and cons. I always do the big ticket item research in this house. My husband doesn't have the patience for it. He gives me the price range, and I go out and research what we need, what's available, and our options. We seldom end up with the absolute cheapest on offer. It's more of a balance of factors.

And yes, quality would need to play a part. You want to best you can afford balanced against what's clearly overly inflated.

The last thing you want though is to turn physician services into a race to the bottom like in other industries where price eclipses everything else. The typical consumer simply has no concept of overall value anymore.

There are a few things in life where picking the lowest cost provider is not usually a good idea:

1) Sushi restaurants
2) Healthcare. Do you really want some idiot running to a doctor advertising $99/eye for surgery?

a reply to: carewemust

I am very happy about this.

Working in a hospital, and watching from within the system, I have always thought this needed to happen to break the power of the healthcare cartel over pricing ... and I hope this so-called 'great healthcare plan' actually does what they say it will.

Wouldn't it be great to have a free market in healthcare, instead of the cartel running it like they currently do?

Watching and waiting

Four words: single payer universal healthcare. That's the answer. The only answer.

Finally someone who isn't in the pocket of big Pharma. We need more changes like this.

a reply to: carewemust

This is a small step in the right direction. But it won't make a difference if Hospital CEO's aren't thrown in jail if they choose not to comply. Fines won't bother them - - there needs to be prison sentences, and harsh ones, if anything is going to improve the healthcare scams.