Executive Order 13951: An America-First Healthcare Plan
President: Donald J. Trump
Directed federal agencies to pursue several health-care measures, including a legislative solution to surprise medical bills by the end of 2020.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13951 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13951 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13951 do?
EO 13951 asked Congress to resolve surprise medical billing by December 31, 2020 and conditioned a separate administrative path on the absence of legislation. Congress enacted the No Surprises Act on December 27. Other directions in the order require their own implementation evidence.
Later official evidence reviewed September 26, 2026: Congress enacted the No Surprises Act in December 2020 before EO 13951’s legislative deadline, and CMS subsequently issued implementing rules. This satisfies the order’s legislative branch condition; it does not prove the order caused the law or that its other health-care directions were completed.
Before and after
Before the order
Federal healthcare programs and surprise-billing rules operated under their existing legal authorities.
After the order
Congress enacted the No Surprises Act in December 2020 before EO 13951’s legislative deadline, and CMS subsequently issued implementing rules. This satisfies the order’s legislative branch condition; it does not prove the order caused the law or that its other health-care directions were completed.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| HHS, Treasury and Labor | Maintain and build access, affordability and price/quality transparency actions | Continuing |
| HHS | Work with Congress on surprise-billing legislation; take administrative action only absent legislation by December 31, 2020 | December 31, 2020 condition |
| HHS | Update Hospital Compare with billing-quality fields | Within 180 days |
What happened next
EO 13951 signed.
Congress enacted the No Surprises Act in Public Law 116-260.
Reviewed the independent 180-day Hospital Compare duty; completion remains unverified.
Legal and source detail
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- CMS — No Surprises Act rules and guidance (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 26, 2026. How we research →