Trump issues warning to CT hospitals. Why it could cost some millions

Hartford Courant – Wednesday, June 24, 2026
By Livi Stanford

The Trump administration is warning 500 hospitals, including seven in Connecticut, that they are failing to provide basic pricing information to the public for procedures and tests, which the administration says is inflating healthcare costs.

Hospitals that fail to comply with the Trump administration’s warnings could receive penalties as high as $2 million annually for each hospital that did not post clear pricing data.

The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or, in more severe cases, requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing.

Day Kimball Hospital, Manchester Memorial Hospital, UConn Health Waterbury Hospital, Gaylord Hospital, Connecticut Hospice, Connecticut Behavioral Health Hospital, and Rockville General Hospital were included in the list.

A senior administration official who requested anonymity to provide the list said President Donald Trump plans to tighten enforcement of price transparency standards made possible by a 2019 executive order signed by Trump. More hospitals are likely to receive letters regarding the absence of pricing data, the official said.

The Connecticut Hospital Association and several hospital officials associated with the hospitals listed said that hospitals are fulfilling the need for pricing transparency.

Paul Kidwell, senior vice president of policy for the Connecticut Hospital Association, said it is important that “patients have access to the information that will help them make decisions about their care, including the potential cost of care.

“Connecticut hospitals are fulfilling that need, not only in broad compliance with federal price transparency rules but also in the vast amount of financial information hospitals report to the state each year,” Kidwell said. “Transparency is an important ingredient in good patient care and hospitals across the state are identifying new ways to deliver helpful information to patients every day.”

Hospitals in the state are required to comply with both federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital price transparency requirements and state reporting requirements reflecting insight into hospital operations including hospital finances, healthcare costs, uncompensated care, patient financial assistance programs and other aspects of hospital operations.

Under federal hospital price transparency regulations, CMS requires hospitals to publicly post standard charges, along with consumer-friendly pricing information, in specified formats on their websites.

Paul Beaudoin, chief financial officer, Day Kimball Health, said in a statement that the hospital “is aware that the format of the price transparency file on the hospital’s website does not currently meet all of the federal requirements.

“We have consistently maintained pricing information on our website and are actively working to update the file format to ensure it complies with federal requirements,” Beaudoin said.

The hospital’s website directs patients to download its price transparency file with more information.

Lauresha Xhihani, CT regional director of communications and public relations for Waterbury Health, said in an email that “UConn Health Waterbury Hospital does have a current price transparency file which is available to the public on its website.

“The hospital will work with the necessary administration departments to clarify any confusion,” she said.

Sylvia Allais, president and CEO of The Connecticut Hospice, said the specialty hospital received the letter in early 2026 and “is fully compliant with price transparency requirements.

“We understand how important it is for patients and families to have clear information about healthcare costs and encourage consumers to visit our website to access our price transparency resources,” Allais said.

A Harford Healthcare spokesperson said “Manchester Memorial supports increased transparency so that patients, consumers, and families can make educated choices about their health care and better understand out-of-pocket costs.

“We make this information as easy as possible to find, with a link on our home page to machine-readable files containing millions of pieces of pricing data, as well as a price estimator tool, as required by the federal price transparency regulations,” the spokesperson said.

Hartford HealthCare acquired both Manchester Memorial and Rockville General from private equity company Prospect Medical Holdings, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2025.

In October 2025, Rockville General’s hospital license was consolidated into Manchester Memorial, according to Eastern Connecticut Health Network, the network of hospitals that Hartford HealthCare purchased.

And Chris Hayes, chief financial officer for Gaylord Hospital, said “Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is committed to transparency and compliance with federal hospital price transparency requirements.

“The CMS review involved technical website requirements and not the availability of pricing information to patients or consumers,” Hayes said. ”Gaylord’s standard charges and pricing files were publicly available and accessible throughout the review period. Upon notification of the technical requirements, including recently implemented federal updates, Gaylord promptly made the necessary modifications and CMS subsequently completed its review. Providing accessible information, exceptional care, and outstanding patient outcomes remains at the core of our mission.”

Health officials from the Connecticut Behavioral Health Hospital did not return phone calls for comment.

In a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on June 10 on transparency of health prices, Subcommittee on Health Ranking Member Rep. Diana DeGette, D-CO, said in her testimony that “transparency in prices is great, and it is necessary but it doesn’t help the five million people who are estimated to lose ACA marketplace coverage this year thanks to the Big Bad Bill and failure to enhance subsidies.

“And it doesn’t help the 7.5 million people that CBO estimates will lose Medicaid coverage due to the Big Bad Bill,” she said.

U.S. lawmakers are considering HR 5582, the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, which would require hospitals and insurers to post the cost of healthcare services in a consumer-friendly format.

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