In recognition of President Donald Trump’s executive actions aimed at increasing transparency in health care pricing, a patient group is sponsoring mobile billboards in front of the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services to say thank you.
PatientsRightsAdvocate.org told The Daily Wire that the campaign was inspired by Trump’s push to make the cost of treatments and procedures more readily available to the public. In February, Trump signed an executive order meant to require “hospitals and health plans to deliver meaningful price information to the American people.”
The billboards feature graphics of Trump in a Superman-style outfit with the words “President Trump Delivers Healthcare Price Transparency” and “Trump To Give Americans Real Prices In Healthcare!” PatientsRightsAdvocate is an organization that seeks to improve the healthcare industry by promoting competition and efficiency.
The same campaign was previously rolled out in Times Square on Monday, and is expected to run until May 4.
PatientsRightsAdvocate mobile billboard campaign.
“The magnitude of President Trump’s delivering ‘radical’ price transparency in healthcare is historic. Patients soon will have access to actual prices, not estimates, before they receive care,” said Cynthia Fisher, the founder and chairman of PatientsRightsAdvocate.org. “Prices create a functional market where the consumer benefits from competition and choice to lower costs. Soon, patients will be able to shop for the best quality of care at the best price.”
In his executive order, Trump directed his administration to ensure that hospitals make “more meaningful price information available to patients to support a more competitive, innovative, affordable, and higher quality healthcare system.” Trump directed the secretaries of Treasury, Labor, and HHS to come up with guidance to enforce the transparency regulations.
Melissa Dietrich, an Indiana resident who was recently charged $1,300 for a routine checkup, told The Daily Wire she was supportive of Trump’s actions.
“I went for my annual checkup, which my insurance had always covered. I received both a clean bill of health and a massive bill of over $1,300. My insurance said the visit was covered,” she said. “The hospital clinic said it wasn’t. I eventually got the bill down to $300, still a lot more than my $35 copay. I never got an explanation. This is why we need healthcare price transparency, which President Trump is making a reality through his executive order.”
Part of Trump’s executive actions include making hospitals state more explicitly how much specific tests and treatments will cost.
