Former U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, directing federal agencies to enforce long-standing healthcare price transparency regulations.
The order revives a 2019 initiative that required hospitals and insurers to publicly disclose costs, an effort that Trump claims was not properly enforced under the Biden administration.
Why This Matters: Price Transparency in Healthcare
The order directs the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to ensure that patients have access to real pricing information for medical services, prescription drugs, and insurance costs.
It mandates that hospitals and insurers provide actual costs, not estimates, and standardize price comparisons across providers.
“When healthcare prices are hidden, large corporate entities like hospitals and insurance companies benefit at the expense of American patients,” the White House stated. “Price transparency will lower healthcare prices and help patients and employers get the best deal on healthcare.”
Trump emphasized that the move will empower patients to make informed decisions about their care.
“They’ll be able to check them, compare them, go to different locations, so they can shop for the highest-quality care at the lowest cost,” he said.
“In some cases, you get the best doctor for the lowest cost. That’s a good thing.”
The White House cited an economic analysis estimating that if fully enforced, the regulations could save consumers, employers, and insurers up to $80 billion by 2025. Additionally, better price shopping could reduce employer healthcare costs by an average of 27% on 500 common services.
As an example, the administration pointed to a patient in Wisconsin who saved $1,095 by comparing prices for two medical tests at different hospitals within a 30-minute drive. The White House argued that such savings would be widespread if patients had access to real-time price comparisons.
Compliance Issues: A Long-Standing Battle
Trump’s original 2019 rule required hospitals to publicly display prices for 300 common medical services and maintain a machine-readable file listing negotiated rates for all procedures.
Insurers were also required to disclose their negotiated rates, out-of-network costs, and the actual prices paid for prescription drugs.
However, compliance has been inconsistent. A 2023 review by Patient Rights Advocate found that only 21% of 2,000 hospitals analyzed were fully adhering to transparency requirements.
A separate audit by the Health and Human Services Inspector General estimated that 46% of hospitals were not in full compliance.
The Resistance: Hospitals and Insurance Companies Fight Back
Hospitals and insurance companies have long resisted the transparency rules, arguing that revealing negotiated rates could disrupt the market and raise costs.
Hospital groups unsuccessfully challenged the regulations in court, claiming they violated their First Amendment rights by forcing them to disclose private negotiations with insurers.
Despite this opposition, the Trump administration remains firm on its stance. “American patients are fed up with the status quo,” the White House stated, citing a poll showing that 95% of Americans consider healthcare price transparency important, with over half believing it should be a top government priority.
Trump’s executive order comes amid ongoing criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of healthcare transparency. In 2023, a lawsuit was filed against the administration, alleging that it failed to enforce prescription drug price transparency requirements.
“While the prior administration failed to prioritize further implementation and enforcement of these requirements, President Trump is delivering on his promises to make the healthcare system more affordable and easier to navigate for patients,” the White House statement read.
