Several conservative groups are backing a proposed new health care price transparency rule, updating what President Donald Trump established during his first term.
In the State of the Union address last month, Trump asserted that “maximum price transparency” for health care services is a “big deal.”
The Trump administration proposed a rule that would require insurers to publish all negotiated health care rates. The administration says it would reduce the complexity of data to make it clearer and more accessible for consumers. Public comment for the proposed regulation closed this week.
Save Our States was among the organizations that supported the regulation in public comment.
“We encourage the administration to continue their efforts and take even bolder steps in places like the Transparency in Coverage (TiC) proposed rule in order to swiftly deliver true price transparency to the American people,” Trent England, executive director for Save Our States, told The Daily Signal.
“Main Street Americans deserve transparency, accountability, and fairness, and President Trump stands ready to deliver,” England added.
The proposed rule is based largely on an executive order Trump signed in December 2025.
The rule would require plans and issuers to exclude from in-network rate files certain data services that providers would be unlikely to perform. It calls for health insurance plans to make the prices they negotiate with doctors, hospitals, and other providers easier to find and easier to understand for consumers.
The rule would be implemented by the Department of Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Other groups or leaders with comments supporting the rule were the American Parents Coalition, Independent Women, the Association of Mature American Citizens Action, and Katy Talento, CEO of AllBetter Health.
AMAC Action supported the rule but called for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to “strengthen key provisions so that the final rule delivers genuine accountability.”
“For seniors living on fixed incomes, clarity in healthcare pricing directly affects monthly budgets, access to physicians, and financial security,” Andrew J. Mangione Jr., senior vice president of AMAC Action, said in the public comment supporting the rule.
“We commend CMS for acknowledging that the current transparency framework has not functioned as intended and for proposing meaningful technical improvements.”
However, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has argued the proposal would do little to decrease pricing and that “a myriad of consumer tools currently exist” for consumers to assess pricing.
“Due to the availability of these tools, we question the value of publicizing the negotiated rates between providers and insurers for all services and items under the auspice of helping consumers shop when it is highly unlikely consumers will know which billing codes are appropriate,” Katie Mahoney, vice president of health policy for the chamber, asserted in a public comment.
“The Chamber takes issue with the assertion that providing information on negotiated rates will reduce costs, rather we remain concerned that rates will increase instead. Finally, the proposal fails to provide any meaningful regulatory impact analysis on the broader economic consequences—including potentially increasing consumer premiums.”
Fred Lucas is chief news correspondent and manager of the Investigative Reporting Project for The Daily Signal. He is the author of “The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left’s Assault on Clean Elections.”
Reprinted with Permission from The Daily Signal – By Fred Lucas
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
Obama has destroyed Health Care in our Country .
Maybe if we got some of the money from the Somali Pirates, the Nancy Pelosi retirement plans, and Green New Deal, we could pay for all health care. As it is, if Trump is for it, the Chamber of ConArtists is against it. After all we taxpayers are paying for the H1B visa and illegal cheap labor force they profit from.
The bottom line is that once you hit a certain age, you shouldn’t be having to pay for health insurance anymore. Medicare should be free. We send billions and billions of dollars overseas. Our seniors sometimes have to choose between medication and food. What is wrong with this government, I have been politically active since my 20s and I am now almost 70 and nothing has changed.
Add most of we the people to this list. The affordable care act, was a play on words. So expensive, and yes you could get insurance with pre-existing conditions, IF you could afford it. So we all got insurance, just didn’t get CARE. I love this Transparency act the President favors.
Did the Chambers of Commerce say how more transparency would raise prices? I do agree that medical coding is a real problem! Coders are using codes that force the patient to pay for services the insurance normally pays for! That happens all the time and I’m not the only one trapped in that!
“…it is highly unlikely consumers will know which billing codes are appropriate”
You don’t have to know what the freaking codes mean. That is a very weak argument. Once the information is public, smart people will start crunching the numbers and providing the simplified analysis to consumers.
More information is better.
Well of course the chamber is against this. They act for the insurance companies. The hospitals and doctors and Pharma don’t want any prices published. We may not understand the codes we do understand pneumonia not minor medical, plain English works well. And do away with the many translations that are are available. We speak English here. It used to be a requirement for those immigrating to America. This is costly for business. When you are in France or Germany they don’t speak English to anyone they refuse to learn another language let alone get a translator.
When you come to America on a resident visa you must speak the language. Take care of yourself for the first 5 years and assimilate into this country. Otherwise stay home. Don’t come here to pluck the country bare and then go home. When you immigrate you have responsibilities to this country. This country does not owe you a living. That is why the cost of healthcare is sky high. We pay for these illegals and we the citizens are paying higher premiums, higher copays and claims for treatment are denied. All so these illegals can receive free healthcare. I say publish the deals the insurance companies made with the hospitals, doctors and big Pharma. .
Can someone tell me exactly how this is going to help with costs for insurance or care? What is an individual going to do with this info? Need to get real reductions in costs not smoke and mirrors.
Yes, show us how the money is spent and make the provider be main and most important component, not the insurance, it is the doctor I want to see not the insurance agent.
ALL should
For each grand idea to help US citizens there is a league of lobbyists in the wings to thwart it. How does that work? Because they literally buy politicians. That should end but Congress will never do that. Seems our only recourse is Constitutional Convention to bring forth and promote amendments to right the ship of state!
I would like to have an article about the “middlemen” in the whole health care system. The people who push the paper for all parties and get a piece of the action. Millions go unaccounted for to pay for these “processors” of the system, put in place by the huge health care producers and government overseers. It’s an almost secret “shadow” army of people who have their hand in the till and produce nothing in the end, except a fat pay check gleaned from the till. So AMAC, how about an article or series of articles about this “management system” that is in place and functional thqt never gets the spot light.
They are the parasites/leeches of the system that cost all involved billions that could be used to better ends….like cheaper scripts, better medical care and lower costs across the board.. By the way they have a huge lobby in place that will fight any change or desire to get rid of them. Few people know about this “group” of “helpers.” Just FYI.
Simplify, simplify, simplify. The same should be done with the tax code.
I am retired but heading back to work, cant afford the high cost of Healthcare.
I’m all for transparency but don’t understand how it helps for me to know what my plan will pay. That’s why I joined a plan….. So It wouldn’t matter to me.
Medicare supplemental insurance is designed correctly. The big win is that the gov created health plans A to G that all insurance companies must insure. I have plan F, so when I shop for a better price all companies must insure exactly the same plan F – the only difference is price. I can easily get the best price. All other insurance the companies design the plans and they all vary and it is impossible to shop them – by design!
Why doesn’t the US Chamber of Commerce propose additional input to the President’s plan to improve it rather than just throw rocks at it. They clearly don’t additional transparency.
I had a dispute with my carrier – they said my Dr was not part of our network & as such, there was no coverage for him. I asked if he was in network, how much would they have covered & what my portion would be. They flat out refused to tell me that, they said their negotiated rates could not be disclosed. What “myriad of consumer tools” are available for me to discover those numbers? We need true transparency to figure out what is best for ourselves. (BTW – the DR had lied, told us when he bought the practice, everything was still in network – HA. The practice was in network – he was not – they flay out lied to us & hid the truth from us)