ExecutiveOrdersEO
EO 13951Executive OrderTrump 45 · R

Executive Order 13951

An America-First Healthcare Plan

This executive order declares a continuation of healthcare policies emphasizing patient choice, lower costs, and quality care, with specific directives to maintain existing actions and new deadlines for price transparency and surprise billing measures. It requires HHS to work with Congress on surprise billing legislation by year-end 2020, take administrative action if legislation fails, and update Medicare.gov Hospital Compare within 180 days with hospital billing quality information.

Federal Register Open PDF 85 FR 62179

Impact dates

  1. HHS to update Medicare.gov Hospital Compare with hospital billing quality information

  2. Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule effective

  3. HHS to work with Congress to reach legislative solution on surprise billing

Key directives

  • Secretaries of Treasury, Labor, and HHS shall maintain and build upon existing actions to expand affordable healthcare options
  • HHS Secretary shall work with Congress to reach legislative solution on surprise billing by December 31, 2020
  • If no legislative solution by December 31, 2020, HHS Secretary shall take administrative action to prevent unforeseen out-of-pocket patient bills
  • Within 180 days of signing, HHS Secretary shall update Medicare.gov Hospital Compare with: hospital compliance with price transparency rule; whether hospitals provide itemized receipts; frequency of hospitals taking legal action against patients
  • HHS and VA Secretaries shall maintain actions to improve veterans' care quality
  • HHS Secretary shall continue promoting medical innovations for COVID-19, Alzheimer's, sickle cell disease, pediatric cancer

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Policy declaration in effect; agencies directed to maintain existing healthcare actions

Near term (90d)

  • HHS to update Medicare.gov Hospital Compare with hospital billing quality data (by March 23, 2021)

Long term

  • Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule effective January 1, 2021; potential administrative action on surprise billing if Congress fails to act by December 31, 2020

Risks & tensions

  • December 31, 2020 legislative deadline was extremely tight given signing date of September 24, 2020 and upcoming election
  • Administrative fallback on surprise billing is vague—no specific mechanism described
  • EO relies heavily on 'maintain and build upon existing actions' language, which may limit new concrete obligations
  • Potential tension between ACA repeal stance and protection of pre-existing conditions coverage
  • Hospital billing quality disclosure (legal actions against patients) could face hospital industry resistance
  • EO is largely hortatory and retrospective; most substantive requirements were already underway via prior EOs and rules
Executive Order 13951: An America-First Healthcare Plan · Executive Orders