During his first term, President Donald Trump made groundbreaking, bipartisan reforms to require hospitals to disclose their prices to the public. Unfortunately, most hospitals continue to withhold vital pricing information from patients. Now Trump is ordering federal agencies to strengthen these reforms.

For decades, most hospitals hid the price of their healthcare services from patients looking for care. Without this information, patients had no idea how much their healthcare would cost until they received it. This lack of transparency foisted large and unexpected hospital bills on patients and often saddled them with crippling medical debt.

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In 2019, however, Trump decided to end this uncertainty and give patients control over their healthcare. That year, his administration implemented a policy that requires hospitals to publicly disclose the prices of 300 common, nonemergency services on their websites. These reforms promised to empower patients to comparison-shop for the best healthcare services at the most affordable price. Transparency revealed that some hospitals charge substantially higher prices than others in the same metropolitan area. Families can review the prices of multiple hospitals and choose the more affordable option. Health plans could also use publicly available prices to negotiate lower reimbursements on behalf of their members. One study by Turquoise Health found that patients and employers could save 27% on healthcare services when patients choose the least expensive hospital in their area as opposed to the most expensive.

People understand price transparency is essential for a patient-centered healthcare system. A 2024 survey by Echelon Insights found that over 90% of likely Republican and Democratic voters support Trump’s price transparency policies. Unfortunately, many hospitals still refuse to give consumers transparent prices. A November report from PatientRightsAdvocate.org estimates that only 21% of hospitals in the United States fully comply with the transparency rule’s requirements.

Even more troubling is that the Department of Health and Human Services, the federal agency charged with enforcing the rule, does not know which hospitals are complying and which ones are not. An October report by the Government Accountability Office found that HHS does not routinely monitor hospital websites to ensure they fully and accurately disclose their prices. Instead, the agency primarily relies on consumer complaints about specific hospitals.

It is entirely unacceptable for HHS to shirk its responsibility to enforce these critical policies, effectively outsourcing enforcement to the general public. Sick patients who are often overwhelmed by their health concerns should not bear the burden of upholding federal regulations. This responsibility squarely falls on HHS to enforce the rules it has established. If the agency continues to neglect its duty, millions of patients will remain at risk of being burdened with crushing medical bills.

To correct these failures, the president has issued an executive order to strengthen his price transparency measures. His order directs HHS and other agencies to implement new policies to ensure hospitals clearly and accurately report their prices, allowing consumers to comparison shop for care. HHS could improve compliance by performing random audits of individual hospitals within different hospital systems. If the agency determines a hospital is not fully disclosing its prices, then all hospitals within the system would face fines. HHS already enforces a similar policy in Medicare Advantage to curb overpayments to health insurers that administer the program’s benefits.

Congress could also partner with Trump by increasing penalties on noncompliant hospitals. In 2023, the House of Representatives passed the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, which included a provision that increases the maximum fine for a hospital that refuses to provide transparent pricing from roughly $2 million to $10 million. However, the Senate never scheduled a vote on this important proposal.

Trump and members of Congress have a unique opportunity to build on the president’s legacy and make price transparency a reality for everyone. By ensuring that every hospital fully and accurately discloses its prices, patients will be safeguarded from devastating healthcare bills, and hospitals will be rewarded for delivering more affordable care.

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Bobby Jindal served as governor of Louisiana (2008–16) and as a U.S. assistant secretary of Health and Human Services from (2001–03). Charlie Katebi is deputy director of the Center for a Healthy America at the America First Policy Institute.