Political speech, timestamped and in context

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “The American people pay for this healthcare system. They have the right to know the prices.”

Featuring: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Independent | United States Secretary of Health and Human Services | National

'A Clear View About What Healthcare Actually Costs': RFK Jr. Announces New Transparency Measures

Published October 5, 2026

And innovators will be able to build better tools that turn this data into information that ordinary Americans can use. The American people pay for this healthcare system. They have the right to know the prices. And if you go into a restaurant and you order a meal, you know what the price is in the menu. (09:52–09:58)

STATEMENT

Asserts that Americans have the right to know healthcare prices because they pay for the system.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

See the main statements from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in this video

“Hip replacement in Boston cost $17,900 at one hospital, and at a nearby hospital, it costs $74,000 for the exact same surgery.”
Asserts that there is a significant price disparity for hip replacement surgeries in Boston.05:21-05:36
“One analysis found that 60% of insured negotiated hospital rates were higher than the hospital's own cash price.”
Asserts that 60% of negotiated hospital rates are higher than cash prices.05:47-05:56
“The administration has already issued warnings or corrective action requests to more than 500 hospitals that failed to meet federal price transparency requirements.”
Asserts that over 500 hospitals received warnings or corrective actions for not meeting price transparency requirements.07:33-07:46
“HHS, Department of Labor, the Department of Treasury are finalizing new transparency and coverage rules [to strengthen] what health insurers must disclose about prices.”
Asserts that new rules are being finalized to enhance price transparency in health insurance.00:54-01:09
“The most effective [reform in Australia] was price transparency of giving people individual consumers and also employers who are paying for the plan, real transparency.”
Asserts that price transparency was the most effective reform in Australia's healthcare system.02:16-02:30
“President Trump tried to do this during his first term and he succeeded in doing it. And he demanded that everybody publish their prices.”
Asserts that President Trump succeeded in implementing price transparency during his first term.02:43-02:53
“The industry, the payers, and in some cases the providers took evasive action [to obscure price transparency].”
Asserts that the healthcare industry took evasive action to obscure price transparency.02:53-03:00
“These new rules make sure that information is accurate, standardized, easier to use, simplified, and free of all the extraneous information.”
Asserts that the new rules ensure healthcare pricing information is accurate and simplified.04:31-04:43
“We forced the payers, the providers, to cut out duplicative and meaningless data.”
Asserts that the new rules require the removal of duplicative and meaningless data from healthcare pricing.04:47-04:53
“President Trump established the most significant health care price transparency requirement in American history.”
Asserts that President Trump established a major healthcare price transparency requirement.06:37-06:55
“Recent data show that price among the most expensive quarter of healthcare services fell by 6.3% per following the implementation of the initial technical requirements.”
Asserts that healthcare service prices fell by 6.3% after implementing initial technical requirements.07:06-07:20
“The department estimates these reforms could reduce the size of our pricing files by 70% while making information much easier to analyze and compare.”
Asserts that reforms could reduce pricing file sizes by 70% and improve data analysis and comparison.08:24-08:37
“We are also requiring health plans and insurers to attest that pricing data they publish is true, accurate and complete, and to identify the senior official at that company who is responsible for that data and for those statements.”
Asserts that health plans and insurers must verify the accuracy of their published pricing data and identify a responsible official.08:37-08:56
“We're expanding access to useful out of network pricing information.”
Asserts that access to out-of-network pricing information is being expanded.08:58-09:03
“We're requiring consumers to be able to obtain personalized cost sharing information by phone in addition to the tools already available online.”
Asserts that consumers must be able to obtain personalized cost-sharing information by phone.09:04-09:15
“President Trump gave us a clear mandate to bring real price transparency in American healthcare.”
Asserts that President Trump mandated real price transparency in American healthcare.10:45-10:52