Public Enemy’s Chuck D fights for healthcare price transparency

Legendary rapper Chuck D brought his powerful voice to Washington, DC They advocate for greater price transparency across the U.S. health care system.

The Public Enemy frontman performed in front of an audience on March 5 at an event organized by Power to the Students, a nonprofit health care reform organization.

The “Fight the Power” rapper is amongst a growing list of artists pushing for lawmakers to pass bipartisan laws — crafted by Senators Mike Braun (R-IN) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — that will strengthen and expand care price transparency requirements health.

The 63-year-old said the organization sees hip-hop as a voice of reason in hopes of being an “additional voice to convey the importance of this issue.”

“You know,” he added, “there are people who are now in their 40s, 50s and 60s who, if they are not themselves, their families immediately surrounding them are struggling with the same conditions and situations,” the performer said. “So why not have a voice that is not only loud and relevant, but also relates to the scenario that is happening in their own lives?”

A 2023 report from the nonprofit Patient Rights Advocate found that just below 40% of two,000 hospitals surveyed were in compliance with the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule implemented in 2021. Under the rule, in keeping with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, any operating hospital within the US is required to “provide clear and accessible information on the Internet about the prices of products and services offered.”

Information may be submitted in two ways: as a comprehensive file containing all items and services; or by presenting maintainable services in a consumer-friendly format.

Some of music’s biggest hits shared the stage with Chuck D, whose real name is Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, including Fat Joe, Valerie June and the Foo Fighters.

This wasn’t the primary time rappers had united to advocate for the greater good. In 2023, Chuck D and Fat Joe collaborated with the nonprofit organization on a public service announcement titled “HIP HOP PSA: We need real pricing and transparency in health care.”

For 60 Seconds, hip-hop legends including Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross and French Montana discussed the dearth of transparency in healthcare, something Chuck D called a “humanitarian crisis” because he experienced the identical pain he deals with day by day thousands and thousands of Americans are struggling. “I mean, all we have to do is look at our own families,” he said.

“You know, if you’re black and you’re black in the United States, you immediately realize, if you want to point out, that the conditions and the costs are two different worlds.”

Fat Joe believes that since bills are being made, things are “moving in the right direction.”

According to U.S. Representatives including Andre Carson (D-IN), Dan Goldman (D-NY), and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona stopped by an event. “It’s the Heritage Act,” Fat Joe said. “That’s why they’re sending you to Washington.”