File this one under “why wasn’t it already illegal?”: President Trump last week signed two bills banning gag orders that stop pharmacists from alerting you to how you can pay less for a prescribed drug.

The villains here are not Big Pharma — that is, the drugmakers. It’s the middlemen — the enormous profitable “pharmacy benefits managers” — who negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical companies on behalf of insurers. Those prices can be so high that you’re better off paying a lower cash price — but the middlemen have been refusing to do business with pharmacies that don’t agree to keep quiet about the scam.

The two bills (one covering private insurers, the other for Medicare and Medicaid) passed Congress overwhelmingly, since no sane politician dared defend this scam. But the pressure to actually ban the practice came from Trump, as part of his drive to lower consumers’ drug bills. Then it became bipartisan, with Senate leaders on the issue including Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).

It’s only a small step forward, but should save some consumers hundreds of dollars a year. Consider it a sign that Washington is still capable (occasionally) of at least passing no-brainer laws.