Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 24, 2019 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS PUTTING AMERICAN PATIENTS FIRST BY MAKING HEALTHCARE MORE TRANSPARENT “We should also require drug companies, insurance companies, and hospitals to disclose real prices to foster competition and bring costs down.” – President Donald J. Trump  IMPROVING PRICE AND QUALITY TRANSPARENCY: President Donald J. Trump is delivering on his promise to bring more healthcare price and quality transparency for American patients. President Trump is signing an Executive Order that directs his Administration to take steps to improve price and quality transparency in healthcare. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will require hospitals to publicly disclose amounts that reflect what people actually pay for services in an easy-to-read format. At President Trump’s direction, HHS will begin the process of making information on out-of-pocket spending more readily available to patients before they receive care. Researchers, innovators, and providers will get more access to data that will help them develop tools to provide patients with more information about healthcare prices and quality. The Administration will improve quality measurements and make them public. The President’s order also improves consumers’ incentives to shop for care by expanding the benefit of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and other tax-preferred health accounts. EMPOWERING PATIENTS WITH INFORMATION: Our healthcare system has long hid the true cost of care, keeping critical information from patients’ hands and limiting competition. For too long, powerful interests have blocked patients from knowing the true price and quality of healthcare, denying them the information they need to make informed choices. Lack of transparency contributes to soaring costs, suppressed competition, and lower quality. Patients face wide variations in prices, often for the same services, due to a lack of transparency. When armed with accurate information, patients can often identify savings by shopping around for healthcare services. Publicizing the true prices of healthcare services will allow Americans to make choices that fit their personal healthcare needs and financial situations. Price and quality transparency will promote increased competition among healthcare providers, leading to better value and more innovative healthcare. INCREASING TRANSPARENCY TO LOWER COSTS: President Trump is working to lower healthcare costs by improving transparency and promoting competition. The President signed legislation to end “gag” clauses that prevented pharmacists from letting patients know about potentially lower prices for drugs. Recently, the Trump Administration took action to require drug manufacturers to publicly disclose drug prices in their television ads. The President has taken action to empower consumers and expand affordable options like Health Reimbursement Arrangements, short-term plans, and Association Health Plans. In 2018, President Trump launched a blueprint on ways to drive down drug prices and find savings for American patients. After the President announced the blueprint, more than a dozen major drug makers enacted price freezes, reductions, or rollbacks. Last year, prescription drug prices decreased for the first time in nearly 50 years. ###