U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C. said the rule was reasonably related to the government’s interest in lowering healthcare costs and giving consumers more pricing data to help them decide on treatment. “Plaintiffs are essentially attacking transparency measures generally, which are intended to enable consumers to make informed decisions,” wrote Nichols, who was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump. It said the rule does not help patients understand their true costs, and imposes heavy burdens on hospitals “when resources are stretched thin and need to be devoted to patient care.”
