Trump signs order making hospitals, insurers disclose upfront costs, fulfilling 'transparency' calls

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will require hospitals and health insurers to disclose to discose healthcare cost, amid Americans' ongoing and increasing complaints about the undisclosed price of medical care. 

The order signed Tuesday is in fact similar to the one Trump signed in his first term and tells the departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services to enforce it within 90 days.

Hospital groups made an unsuccessful legal challenge to the 2019 order, arguing it would force them to disclose private negotiations with insurers, undermining competition and violating their First Amendment free speech rights, according to Reuters. 

Last year, the Patient Rights Advocate (PRA) released a poll by Echelon Insights that showed 92% of Americans support requirements for hospitals and insurers to provide actual prices upfront. 

Another poll, conducted by Marist for the PRA, found 94% of American adults agreed that hospitals, insurance companies and doctors should "be legally required to disclose all of their prices, including discounted prices, cash prices and insurance negotiated rates across hospitals and across plans in an easily accessible place online," according to the Hill newspaper.

The new executive order also requires health insurers and hospitals to update existing guidance or propose new regulations that ensure price information is standardized. 

"You're not allowed to even talk about [costs] when you're going to a hospital or see a doctor, Trump told reporter when singing the order. "And this allows you to go out and talk about it. It's been unpopular in some circles because people make less money, but it's great for the patient."

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy lauded Trump's order:

"Thank you, @POTUS, for your steadfast leadership in issuing an executive order that mandates clear, accurate and actionable healthcare pricing. This executive order will empower patients with the knowledge they need to make informed health decisions," he wrote on X. "At @HHSgov, we are fulfilling our promise of radical transparency in healthcare."