President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order aimed at delivering unprecedented transparency in health care pricing—an action hailed by patient advocacy groups as a transformative shift in how Americans access and afford medical care.
The executive order mandates that hospitals, insurers, and health plans publicly disclose the actual prices for procedures, treatments, and services—before patients receive care. For the first time, Americans will be empowered to compare prices, shop for services, and hold providers accountable for inflated and hidden costs that have long burdened families and small businesses.
Cynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PatientsRightsAdvocate.org, called the move “historic,” stating, “The magnitude of President Trump’s delivering ‘radical’ price transparency in healthcare is historic. Prices create a functional market where the consumer benefits from competition and choice to lower costs.”
Under the order, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services are directed to issue new rules ensuring compliance with the transparency requirements. Providers will no longer be allowed to conceal pricing behind insurance codes, estimates, or complex billing systems. Instead, patients will know in advance what they’re paying—and who charges more or less—for the same procedures.
Support for the order is growing among patients and medical consumers. Melissa Dietrich, a resident of Indiana, shared her frustration after being hit with a $1,300 charge for a basic check-up—despite her insurance indicating it was fully covered. “This kind of surprise billing happens every day to people who play by the rules,” she said. “We need price transparency to stop this.”
In addition to this measure, President Trump has signed additional actions to strengthen Medicare’s ability to negotiate prices and to expand competition among pharmaceutical manufacturers. These steps are designed to bring down the cost of high-priced prescription drugs and make essential medications more affordable for seniors and working families.
The executive order reflects Trump’s broader commitment to patient-focused healthcare reform—rooted in transparency, competition, and consumer choice. Rather than expanding government-run health care, the Trump administration has focused on empowering patients and disrupting entrenched industry practices that favor opaque pricing and bureaucratic middlemen.
As the country continues to wrestle with rising healthcare costs, this latest order underscores a clear shift: putting patients first, breaking up price-fixing practices, and holding both insurers and providers accountable for their pricing models.