President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on healthcare transparency is being called a “radical” and “historic” move by leading patient advocacy groups. The new directive, issued in January and now entering implementation, mandates that healthcare providers clearly disclose the actual prices of services and prescription drugs—no more estimates, vague billing codes, or hidden costs.

The EO, officially titled “Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information”, builds upon Trump’s 2019 executive order and directs key federal agencies—including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor—to enforce and expand transparency requirements across the healthcare system.

Within 90 days of the order, these agencies are tasked with ensuring providers disclose real, itemized pricing in standardized formats that are easy for patients to compare. The idea is simple: give Americans the power to shop for healthcare like they would any other major purchase. That means knowing the cost of a procedure or prescription up front—not after a surprise bill arrives in the mail.

Cynthia Fisher, founder and CEO of PatientRightsAdvocacy.org, praised the move as long overdue. Her group is now running a high-visibility mobile billboard campaign thanking Trump for the order. “The magnitude of President Trump’s delivering ‘radical’ price transparency in healthcare is historic,” Fisher said. “Patients soon will have access to actual prices, not estimates, before they receive care.”

She emphasized that transparent pricing promotes market competition, drives down costs, and empowers patients with choice. “Prices create a functional market where the consumer benefits from competition and choice to lower costs,” she explained. “Soon, patients will be able to shop for the best quality of care at the best price.”

The campaign launched in Times Square on Monday and is now stationed in front of the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services. The group plans to keep the billboards running through early May.

The EO also seeks to close longstanding loopholes that allow pharmaceutical companies and providers to dodge transparency standards. According to a 2021 study published in BMJ Open, 75% of pharmaceutical companies failed to meet even basic transparency measures. Worse, 40% reportedly failed to comply with FDA reporting requirements.

That kind of opacity has allowed massive price-gouging in both hospital billing and drug costs, often leaving patients stunned at the pharmacy counter or buried in paperwork they can’t decipher.

Trump’s action directly targets this dysfunction. By requiring clear, upfront pricing, the administration is effectively forcing Big Pharma and hospital conglomerates to operate like any other competitive business. It’s a move many in the healthcare industry have long resisted—but one that patients and watchdogs have demanded for years.

Not surprisingly, Trump’s push is already drawing fire from the left. Democrats and healthcare bureaucrats, many of whom are tied to the pharmaceutical lobby, have tried to paint the order as disruptive or even dangerous. But for ordinary Americans, especially seniors and working families struggling with out-of-pocket costs, the change can’t come soon enough.

Trump’s team is also highlighting how this effort fits into the broader agenda to cut middle-class costs. Between his tariff-funded tax relief promises and executive actions like this one, the message is clear: this administration is taking direct aim at the cost of living crisis that ballooned under Biden.

Whether Democrats try to obstruct the order remains to be seen, but one thing is certain—price transparency in healthcare is now a winning political issue. And Trump is making sure he’s the one delivering it.