Trump’s executive order aims to tell patients how expensive health care is. But that’s all it does.

The thinking behind President Donald Trump’s executive order on Monday is that more transparency around health care costs will benefit patients. That sounds sensible but, as various experts cautioned, the details matter.

The White House is tasking federal agencies with writing regulations that try to reveal a lot of information that isn’t readily available, like how much insurers pay hospitals for services and how much patients will pay out of pocket before being treated...