FIRST ON FOX: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight Jon Jones announced Thursday that he is about to deliver a big blow to hidden prices in healthcare.
UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones said that he would be launching a new initiative partnering with the nonprofit group Power to the Patients to take on hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers and insurance companies, which he says have “refuse[d]” to be transparent with their prices in order to rake in more profits.
“This next fight for me is a personal one, but it’s not just for me. It’s for every American who has ever been bullied, robbed or deceived. It’s arguably the most important fight of my career,” Jones said in a mock press conference akin to those he participates in when announcing his next UFC opponent. “My next opponent will be: the American healthcare system.”
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Screenshot from Jon Jones Thursday announcement about his new initiative with Power to the Patients. (Jon Jones)
During his first term, President Donald Trump passed healthcare price transparency rules that forced hospitals and insurers to publish all their prices, so patients could make more informed decisions about where they want to get their treatment and, as a result, increase competition and lower prices.
On the 2024 campaign trail, President Trump suggested during an interview with podcaster Theo Von that the lack of transparency around healthcare pricing amounted to “extortion” by these wealthy companies, and he charged former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris with refusing to enforce his first-term rule. However, according to Trump, he’ll be “pressing” to ensure that this sort of transparency in the healthcare system comes to fruition.
Jones said during the mock press conference that people should know whether an MRI costs $600 or $6,000, noting that “in America, we shouldn’t have to advocate for honesty and accountability in healthcare.”
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Pictured is a photo of a medical billing statement, similar to what most patients get. (iStock)
Medical bills are a leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S., according to some studies. The National Institutes of Health posited in 2019 that a survey of debtors showed that the majority of respondents, 58.5%, agreed that medical expenses contributed to their financial woes.
Trump has said that if his first-term rules on healthcare pricing transparency had been enforced the way he envisioned, it could have brought down the price of care by as much as 50% to 60%. Trump also blamed the healthcare industry’s “powerful” lobby for a reason why the rules have not been adequately enforced.
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While Jones and Trump are allies – the fighter presented the president with his champion belt during one of his recent fights and also surprised fans with Trump’s signature dance move following his win – the issue is a bipartisan one. During the last Congress, a cohort of Republicans and Democrats sought to pass legislation clamping down on improving hospital and insurer price transparency.
President-elect Donald Trump greets Jon Jones after he defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, early Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Power to the Patients is no stranger to star power. The group has partnered in the past with country superstars Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll, as well as rappers Fat Joe, Method Man and others.
“I am proud to be joining Power to the Patients to take on hospitals and insurance companies that refuse to show their prices,” Jones told Fox News Digital.
“For years, hospitals and insurers have been disregarding rules requiring them to disclose prices to patients in advance of care. In a healthcare system that lacks transparency and accountability, Jones said, “Without real prices, hospitals and health insurers are making healthcare in America unaffordable, inaccessible, and totally dishonest. When we can’t see or compare real prices upfront, we are blindsided by overcharges, price-gouging and surprise bills that we can’t verify are correct.”
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“In his first term, President Trump took aggressive and historic action to make healthcare prices available to patients before they get care instead of sticking Americans with surprise bills,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. “After the Biden administration neglected implementation of these commonsense ideas and allowed the healthcare industry to keep patients in the dark, the second Trump administration is committed to lowering costs and Making America Healthy Again by giving Americans the choices they want and the transparency they need to make informed decisions.”
