President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday mandating more transparency in medical billing, with the goal of giving patients more information and ultimately possibly helping control the skyrocketing cost of health care in the U.S.
"Hospitals will be required to publish prices that reflect what people pay for services," Trump said at the signing. "You will get great pricing. Prices will come down by numbers that you wouldn’t believe. The cost of health care will go way, way down."
While the order did not offer specifics, it does order the federal Health and Human Services department to eventually create a policy and system of rules to enforce such transparency.
This executive order could have major ramifications for medical institutions including Mayo Clinic, which treated and billed an estimated 1.3 million patients in 2018.
On Monday, officials at Mayo Clinic did not have much to say about Trump’s order, citing a lack of details.
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"We will analyze the proposed rule when it comes out," said spokeswoman Susan Barber Lindquist.
The national push for billing transparency comes months after Mayo Clinic made the more than $1 billion transition to the Wisconsin-based Epic Systems health records software.
Epic’s system closely links patients’ medical records with billing and is now the standard at all three Mayo Clinic campuses and at its related health care system sites.
