11 NC hospitals warned by Trump administration on pricing transparency

Of the more than 500 hospitals nationwide that have been issued warnings or requests for corrective action by the Trump administration for noncompliance with pricing transparency requirements, 11 are North Carolina hospitals, according to a list obtained by the Associated Press and reported by the Hill. 

The list also indicates for each hospital whether a warning or a request for corrective action has been issued. Hospitals could be fined up to $2 million annually should they fail to comply. 

The 11 North Carolina hospitals the Trump administration has accused of not being compliant are:

• Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville
• Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory
• ECU Health Beaufort Hospital in Washington
• ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville
• FirstHealth Montgomery Memorial Hospital in Troy
• FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst
• Fry Regional Medical Center in Hickory
• Holly Hill Hospital in Raleigh
• J. Arther Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport
• Kernersville Medical Center in Kernersville
• Veritas Collaborative LLC in Durham

“The lack of pricing transparency is a major source of frustration for hospital patients,” Brian Balfour, VP of Research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “It’s a reflection of how heavily regulated and subsidized the health care industry is that consumers don’t have access to basic pricing information. It’s hard to imagine consumers being forced to wait until after the purchase of a good or service to find out its pricing in an openly competitive market. Requiring price transparency is a good measure, but it’s just a needed intervention to correct for problems created by the already-existing massive amount of government intervention into the health care sector. A better approach would be to systematically unravel the countless layers of government interference in health insurance and medical care that enable providers to conceal their prices in the first place.”

An executive order (EO) signed by President Donald Trump on Feb. 25, 2025, mandated that hospitals make pricing information for 300 commonly provided services available to consumers in an accessible way. This would allow consumers to comparison shop services and choose the best provider for their financial needs. 

The EO originated from a 2021 rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which triggered a 2019 executive order during President Trump’s first term that implemented the same requirements as the 2025 EO. 

“The order directs the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to rapidly implement and enforce the Trump healthcare price transparency regulations, which were slow walked by the prior administration,” reads a White House Fact Sheet. 

Economic analysis from 2023 estimated that if the regulations were fully implemented, they could result in up to $80 billion in health care-related costs by 2025, not only for consumers but also for insurers and employers, according to the order.

A 2024 report indicates that transparency could lead employers to lower healthcare costs by 27% across 500 common services, according to the order. 

The 2025 order ensures that actual prices, not estimates, are disclosed, including those for prescription drugs. It also requires departments to update their enforcement policies to ensure compliance. 

“Our goal was to give patients the knowledge they need about the real price of healthcare services,” said Trump, according to the Fact Sheet. “They’ll be able to check them, compare them, go to different locations, so they can shop for the highest-quality care at the lowest cost. And this is about high-quality care. You’re also looking at that. You’re looking at comparisons between talents, which is very important. And then, you’re also looking at cost. And, in some cases, you get the best doctor for the lowest cost. That’s a good thing.”

“11 NC hospitals warned by Trump administration on pricing transparency” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.