Trump’s Approach to Health Care Transparency

There’s a growing sense among Americans that the medical system is really struggling. Insurance costs keep rising, deductibles are climbing, and the bills that roll in often leave people scratching their heads. A big part of this issue seems to stem from a health care system that’s, well, shrouded in secrecy.

Recently, President Trump announced the expansion of TrumpRX, a platform aimed at helping people find cheaper medications—kind of like how you would search for a place to stay on Airbnb. As we look at ways to tackle health care costs, hospitals and insurance providers definitely need scrutiny.

Health care represents one of the priciest and least transparent areas of the American economy. Hidden fees, complicated billing practices, and numerous middlemen contribute to scandals that cost hard-working families and taxpayers billions each year due to fraud and waste.

The silver lining? The Trump administration holds the authority to start making changes that would ease these burdens for Americans, though it’s really about how well this gets executed.

Practical Steps to Enhance Affordability and Transparency

There are three actionable steps we could undertake to cut costs, root out fraud, and rebuild trust in our health care system.

First, it’s crucial for patients to get a clear price before they receive treatment. This would allow them to play an active role in identifying and fighting against fraud and waste. Right now, people typically find out how much treatment costs only after it’s done, when bills start arriving. By that point, comparing prices becomes nearly impossible.

In fact, Congress and President Trump previously tackled this through the No Surprises Act, which aimed to ensure patients received an itemized bill with expected costs before treatment. Unfortunately, these protections have been stalled for several years under President Biden, so they’ve yet to be fully rolled out.

This kind of upfront information can empower patients to compare costs, spot excessive charges, and keep records for potential disputes with insurance companies later. Just like any major purchase, treatment should come with a price tag beforehand.

Next, we should focus on cleaning up the federal employee health program. It’s one of the largest buyers of health care, yet there’s a concerning lack of transparency around how taxpayer money is being spent.

The Office of Personnel Management already has the authority to enhance oversight by requesting standardized billing data, conducting audits, and verifying eligibility for beneficiaries. These should be essential practices for any well-managed organization.

Audits could identify issues like duplicate billing and inflated charges, while checking eligibility could eliminate fraudulent claims that still cost taxpayers long after they should have ended.

By increasing oversight, billions could be conserved—without cutting any benefits or enacting new laws.

Finally, we need to enforce greater transparency across employer health plans. Most Americans get their insurance through their jobs, but many employers lack access to crucial data that would help them spot fraud and manage expenses. This needs to change.

The Department of Labor is already working on improving compensation disclosure for pharmacy benefit managers, but similar transparency requirements should apply to others involved in administering health plans. Employers should have direct access to claims data and payment records without going through multiple intermediaries.

Currently, many employers are essentially writing blank checks while navigating a convoluted system. Transparency would enable them to become proactive in negotiating better prices and quality care for their employees.

These mechanisms already exist, but they’re underutilized. The challenge isn’t so much policy failure as it is a failure to execute effectively. Without enforcement, transparency rules are merely words on paper.

Even though federal requirements exist for hospitals and insurers, many continue to provide incomplete or non-functional pricing data without any significant consequences.

Americans are fed up with hidden fees and surprise charges. They want to see accountability. This isn’t just an ideological debate—it’s fundamentally about whether people have a right to understand where their money goes in the health care system.

The framework is already there. The laws are in place. What we genuinely need is the determination to implement them. Prioritizing price transparency is the quickest way to empower people and make health care affordable again, and the current administration can lead that charge.