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This is better than Obamacare. It's what Obamacare should have done, if Nancy would have actually read it, and saw that it did not.
invite response
2019 Jun 24, 8:30am 758 views 3 comments
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2
rdm
2019 Jun 24, 9:12am
Tenpoundbass says
Given the scope of the health care problem of cost in this country this is teeny, tiny, premature baby step. What would be helpful and what Trump promised during his 2016 campaign would be to have the government negotiate directly with Pharma companies on the cost of drugs.
if a hospital charges $3,500 for a type of echocardiogram and the same test cost $550 in a doctor’s office, the patient might go for the lower-price procedure to save on copays.
Given the scope of the health care problem of cost in this country this is teeny, tiny, premature baby step. What would be helpful and what Trump promised during his 2016 campaign would be to have the government negotiate directly with Pharma companies on the cost of drugs.
3
SunnyvaleCA
2019 Jun 24, 10:26am
Simple law change: congressmen are REQUIRED to use Obamacare and ONLY Obamacare for themselves and their families.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Monday that calls for upfront disclosure by hospitals of actual prices for common tests and procedures to help keep costs down, administration officials said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters the idea is to give patients practical information that they can use to keep costs down. For example, if a hospital charges $3,500 for a type of echocardiogram and the same test cost $550 in a doctor’s office, the patient might go for the lower-price procedure to save on copays.
Trump’s order will also require that patients be told ahead of time what their out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and copays will be for many procedures. It “will put patients in charge and address the drivers of high health care costs…increasing choice and competition,” Azar said.
But little will change immediately. The executive order sets in motion a rule-making process by federal agencies, which typically takes months or even years. The details of what information will have to be disclosed and how it will be made available to patients must be worked out as part of the regulation-writing process. That will involve a complex give-and-take with hospitals and others industries affected. Consumers will have to wait to see whether the results live up to the administration’s promises.
Lack of information on health care prices is a widespread problem. It’s confusing for patients, and experts say it’s also one of the major factors that push up U.S. costs. The same test or procedure, in the same city, can cost widely different amounts depending on who is performing it and who is paying the bill. Some insurance companies now publish prices for common procedures like MRI tests on their websites.