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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday aimed at strengthening enforcement of health care price transparency rules—one of his signature health policy initiatives.
The move signals a more aggressive approach to ensuring hospitals and insurers comply with requirements to disclose the prices they negotiate for medical services, a White House official said.
Push for Greater Transparency Faces Industry Resistance
For decades, health care prices have been largely hidden from patients, negotiated privately between hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies. Industry groups have long argued that confidentiality is essential for competitive pricing, with some economic studies suggesting that full transparency could inadvertently drive prices higher.
During his first term, Trump sought to force hospitals and insurers to reveal these costs through two major regulations issued jointly by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury, and Labor. One rule required hospitals to publish their rates for common procedures, while the other mandated insurers to disclose negotiated prices with providers.
Compliance, however, has been sluggish. Many hospitals either refused to publish the required data or made it difficult to access. A 2021 report by The Wall Street Journal found that some hospitals had embedded code in their websites to prevent price listings from appearing in online searches.
Policy Impact Remains Unclear
Despite the rules providing new insights into the wide disparities in medical costs, the policy has not yet delivered on Trump’s promise that transparency would lower prices. Health care costs have continued to climb, raising questions about the policy’s effectiveness.
The new executive order directs HHS, Treasury, and Labor to explore additional ways to expand transparency efforts. However, it does not introduce specific new policies, meaning significant changes would require further regulatory action or legislation.
Still, the order reaffirms Trump’s commitment to the issue, which he has previously called “bigger than health care itself.”
As his administration doubles down on enforcement, the battle between the government and the health care industry over pricing transparency is far from over.
