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Last week, President Trump signed an executive order on “An America-First Healthcare Plan” that the Administration says is intended to improve care, increase choice, and lower costs.
The order begins by providing an overview of health care actions the Administration has taken to date, such as implementing site-neutral payment policies, finalizing the hospital price transparency final rule, and cutting Medicare payment for 340B drugs. The order then further describes policies related to the Administration’s positions on:
- Pre-existing conditions: The order states it is the policy of the U.S. to “ensure Americans with pre-existing conditions can obtain the insurance of their choice at affordable rates.”
- Increasing choice: The order directs the secretaries of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) to “expand access to and options for affordable healthcare.”
- Lowering costs:
- The Secretary of HHS is instructed to work with Congress to reach a legislative solution by Dec. 31, 2020, to end surprise medical billing.
- Within 180 days, the Secretary of HHS is instructed to update the Hospital Compare website to include, among other information, whether the hospital is compliant with the price transparency rule, and how often the hospital pursues legal action against patients to collect payment.
- The secretaries of the Treasury, Labor, and HHS are directed to “ensure consumers have access to meaningful price and quality information.”
- The Secretary of HHS is directed to work with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to “expand access to affordable medicines.”
Notably, legislative action would be required to implement most of the policy objectives identified in the order. A White House document identifying how the President is implementing the plan is available here.
