A new Executive Order from President Donald Trump on healthcare price transparency promises to finally put patients on equal footing with hospitals and medical providers in understanding and negotiating the cost of their care – delivering a sweeping victory years in the making for AMAC members and every healthcare consumer.
In signing this order, President Trump has proven once again his commitment to patients’ rights and ensuring that hospitals are not unfairly gouging Americans in need of care. In 2019, during his first term, President Trump signed an initial order on healthcare price transparency which resulted in the federal Hospital Price Transparency rule that was finalized in 2020 and took effect in 2021.
AMAC Action applauded this rule at the time, noting that it promised to “reduce the secrecy behind healthcare pricing and bring welcome competition to the private healthcare industry.” The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services further claimed that “about 200 million Americans will gain access to real-time price information, enabling them to know how much their healthcare will cost them before going in for treatment.”
In theory, this rule should have forced hospitals to maintain consumer-friendly price displays, post negotiated rates with providers, disclose what they pay for prescription drugs, and create online tools for patients to access this information, among other important provisions. As President Trump’s most recent executive order notes, “One economic analysis from 2023 estimated the impact of these regulations, if fully implemented, could result in as much as $80 billion in healthcare savings for consumers, employers, and insurers by 2025.”
However, the Biden administration failed to hold hospitals and medical providers accountable to the requirements of President Trump’s initial order. As of last November, as few as 21 percent of hospitals and healthcare systems were in full compliance with the transparency rules on the books.
As a fact sheet released by the Trump administration notes, “Prices vary widely from hospital to hospital in the same region. One patient in Wisconsin saved $1,095 by shopping for two tests between two hospitals located within 30 minutes of one another.” But because of a lack of price transparency, patients have no insight into the final cost to them and often end up spending hundreds or thousands of dollars more than they need to.
President Trump’s latest healthcare transparency order aims to change that, directing “the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to rapidly implement and enforce the Trump healthcare price transparency regulations.” Those agencies are specifically charged with ensuring hospitals and insurers “disclose actual prices, not estimates” and taking action “to make prices comparable across hospitals and insurers, including prescription drug prices.”
This order, which calls for “radical transparency,” is a major win for patients nationwide and AMAC members who have been leading the charge on healthcare price transparency for years. More than nine in ten Americans say healthcare price transparency is an important priority, while six in ten say it should be a top priority of the government. AMAC members have made their voices heard on this issue, and now President Trump is responding with sweeping and authoritative action to enforce the common-sense reforms forwarded during his first term.
“AMAC Action commends President Trump for issuing this important healthcare price transparency Executive Order that puts American patients first,” said AMAC Action Senior Vice President Andy Mangione. “Thanks to his efforts, healthcare consumers will be empowered with the data they need to make prudent decisions regarding their medical care. This transparency will result in facilities competing for patients which will drive down the cost of everything from prescription drugs to tests to non-emergency procedures. Congress needs to codify this order quickly so a potential Democrat administration can’t reverse this cost saving, free-market solution.”
“Making America healthy again will require empowering individuals with the best information possible to inform their life and healthcare choices,” President Trump said in the order. “By building on the historic efforts of my first term, my Administration will make more meaningful price information available to patients to support a more competitive, innovative, affordable, and higher quality healthcare system.”
AMAC Action will continue to provide updates on this and other healthcare transparency efforts in the weeks and months ahead.
I certainly pray President Trump looks into the cost of heart medicine and other very expensive medicines. Seniors doing with out medication because of the cost. Heart medicine like Eloquis costing $1700.00 to $1900.00 a prescription which in a lot of cases more than the whole incoming Social Security check. So you do without and pray you do not have the big one.
As much as I love & respect President Trump, I’m confused and concerned about his choice of RFK Jr for HEALTH & Human Services Secretary. I have let my feelings be known about RFK Jr over the past four years on nearly every “Conservative” platform there is (including Truth Social), only to be persecuted and criticized by so-called Conservatives and bots.
RFK Jr is one of the many, Liberal-Turned-Independent-But-Wants-Us-To-Believe-He’s- Conservative individuals who, even before the 2020 election and continuing to this day, demonized Trump’s Operation Warp Speed mRNA Covid vaccine.
Contrary to what RFK Jr and others such as Drs. Malone & McCullough have misled and misinformed (a.k.a. lied to) Conservatives about, the mRNA Covid vaccine was very well tested and is 95% effective. I know this because since the Summer of 2020, I was one of the 70,000+ participants of Trump’s Operation Warp Speed mRNA Covid Phase 3 clinical trials. I have been participating in clinical trials for about 15 years and know and respect not only the physicians who over-saw the clinical trials in my area, but also the Principal Investigator / Medical Director who over-saw the clinical trials in our state and several other states in the country.
Unlike RFK Jr who has no medical background but uses the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) as the source of his mRNA vaccine demonization, I not only was part of the research, and have some health care background but also have many mRNA vaccine research articles proving that even before Covid, mRNA vaccines have been in research for decades and have shown to suppress or prevent many different types of cancer. Yes, you read that correctly. Did you know that when the mRNA technology is used with ivermectin, research has shown that it can suppress ovarian cancer? Take for example this May 2020 research article: “Anti-parasite drug ivermectin can suppress ovarian cancer by regulating lncRNA-EIF4A3-mRNA axes,” which can be found on the PubMed National Center for Biotechnology Information website.
Those familiar with the VAERS, which is run by Health & Human Services, know that anyone (you or I) can submit a CLAIM of a near-death event even if it’s over-exaggerated or untrue, and there isn’t a follow-up by CDC or HHS. You’d think RFK Jr, with all of his so-called medical advisors would be aware of this. My guess is that he and his team do know about the miraculous mRNA vaccines. That’s the problem!!!
The VAERS Disclaimer states that: “Anyone, including healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public, can submit reports to the system. While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. Vaccine providers are encouraged to report any clinically significant health problem following vaccination to VAERS even if they are not sure if the vaccine was the cause. In some situations, reporting to VAERS is required of healthcare providers and vaccine manufacturers.” Someone needs to tell RFK Jr that!
I find it annoying, but interesting that RFK Jr changed his I’m-Anti-All-&-Especially-mRNA-Vax and Pro-Late-Term-Abortion tune after being nominated. Now with the measles out-break, I find it humorous that his online followers are wondering what’s going on with his sudden support of MMR vaccines. I’m not buying his sudden change of heart. He knows the RIGHT things to say in order to stay in President Trump’s good graces.
What part of ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER, REGULATIONS, and LAW-SUITS do people not understand about RFK Jr? I hope and pray that Trump knows what he’s doing.