Will transparent pricing make America’s health care cheaper?
A new executive order requires hospitals and insurers to disclose their negotiated prices
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has been promising to bring down health-care costs ever since he announced his campaign for the White House. So far his policies have had the opposite effect. As contenders to stand against him in 2020 have begun to refine their pitches on health, he has at last done something to keep his promise. On June 24th Mr Trump signed an executive order requiring hospitals to disclose the (hitherto secret) prices they have negotiated with insurance companies. The idea is that transparent pricing will spur competition and force high-price hospitals to cut margins, or become more efficient.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Never a bargain”
United States June 29th 2019
- A jail in Denver offers some lessons for criminal-justice reformers
- Can American states slow global warming on their own?
- The president stands accused of rape, again
- Will transparent pricing make America’s health care cheaper?
- Where female athletes are more popular than male ones
- The idea of reparations for slavery is morally appealing but flawed
From the June 29th 2019 edition
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Does Donald Trump have unlimited authority to impose tariffs?
Yes, but other factors could hold him back
As Jack Smith exits, Donald Trump’s allies hint at retribution
The president-elect hopes to hand the Justice Department to loyalists
Democratic states are preparing for Donald Trump’s return
But Mr Trump will be more prepared, too
Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard are coming for the spooks
The president-elect’s intelligence picks suggest a radical agenda
Checks and Balance newsletter: Trump is embracing a shift in Republican priorities
Will he follow through on his policy commitments?
Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration as America’s attorney-general
Will the Senate be brave enough to block Donald Trump’s other outlandish nominees?