When we think of hospitals, we think of the life-saving doctors, nurses, and staff who protect and care for us in times of desperate need. Those frontline professionals represent the best of American medicine. Unfortunately, they are increasingly trapped inside corporate hospital systems whose financial incentives contaminate the provider/patient relationship.

President Trump deserves credit for once again putting a spotlight on a core problem in American healthcare: a complete lack of transparency. For too long, patients have been kept in the dark about what care actually costs and why prices vary so wildly. Transparency is not a partisan issue—it is a basic prerequisite for accountability.

Hospital systems and their associated financiers have taken advantage of regulatory loopholes and government distortions to price-gouge healthcare recipients for decades. From 2000 to 2022, hospital service costs skyrocketed by over 220 percent. That number is even higher today.

Hospitals are the price-setters in healthcare, and they are the first domino driving costs throughout the system. What’s worse is that many hospitals have built business models around staying one step ahead of policymakers, exploiting weak oversight and poorly enforced rules. As a result, patients pay more and get less.

This is why President Trump’s renewed focus on hospital transparency matters. Hospital billing remains opaque by design, making it nearly impossible for patients, employers, and insurers to shop for care or hold providers accountable.........

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