President Trump Signs Executive Order on Price, Quality Transparency

President Trump signed an executive order on June 24 titled, “Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First.”  The executive order is intended to improve the transparency of healthcare prices and quality to foster a more competitive market and provide consumers with the more information so that they can make more informed choices with regard to healthcare expenditures. Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to propose regulations to require hospitals to publicly post standard charge information, including charges and information based on negotiated rates. The order also requires the secretaries to HHS, Treasury, and Labor to issue an advance notice of proposed rule-making within 90 days seeking comment on proposals to require healthcare providers, insurers, and self-insured group plans to provide consumer access to information about expected out-of-pocket costs before they receive healthcare services. The executive order may have implications for the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), per section 216 of PAMA, as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have not factored much hospital laboratory data into its CLFS payment rate calculations. As these regulations are proposed, ASCP will prepare formal comments in support of patient care and quality pathology and laboratory medicine.

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For more information regarding ASCP's advocacy initiatives and policy positions, please contact ASCP's Center for Public Policy at (202) 408-1110.

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