New Executive Order from The Trump Administration
The Trump Administration has issued a new Executive Order that requires the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services to issue new guidance and proposed regulations that disclose negotiated rates, cost-of-care, and de-identified federal healthcare data. The Executive Order also seeks to expand the availability of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
This order does not implement any new federal policies at this point but simply gives specific instructions to the agencies mentioned above to develop regulatory guidance.
Some of the provisions contained in the Executive Order directs federal agencies to issue guidance that would:
- Require hospitals to disclose information about negotiated rates in a format that’s understandable and usable by patients and consumers.
- Require insurance companies to provide patients with information about the cost of their care, including out-of-pocket costs before they receive services.
- Develop a comprehensive roadmap for consistent, limited, and consumer-centric quality metrics.
- Expand the availability and use of HSAs to cover direct primary care arrangements and healthcare sharing ministries. It also seeks to include more preventive services that can be covered in the deductible period.
- Issue guidance on the number of funds that can be carried over at the remainder of the year for FSAs.
This Executive Order is the third one issued by the Administration dealing with healthcare. Again, this order does not immediately trigger any new regulations other than directing agencies to develop regulatory actions.
The process will go through rulemaking procedures which include coming up with a proposed rule, then allowing for a comment period and eventually, enactment of a final rule.
For more details about the Executive Order, please click here.
