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Small Business Survey: New York Owners Say Hospital Consolidations Contribute to High Healthcare Costs for Main Street

The New York results of a national survey of more than 1,000 small business owners show that Empire State entrepreneurs believe the increasing pace of hospital consolidations is exacerbating the already high cost of healthcare and want action

March 21, 2023—The New York responses in a new national Small Business for America’s Future survey of 1,015 small business owners show that Main Street entrepreneurs in the Empire State believe the increasing pace of hospital consolidations is exacerbating the high costs of healthcare and the vast majority support regulating consolidation and creating price controls.

“New York small business owners want to see solutions to high hospital costs so they and their employees can access affordable, quality healthcare,” said Dr. Erika Gonzalez, Co-Chair of Small Business for America’s Future. “Better than most, small business owners understand that competition leads to better prices and innovation. While they are no doubt pleased with a recent law that increases transparency and accountability for hospitals in the state, they would also welcome building on that momentum to find further solutions to hospital consolidation and the high prices it engenders.”

Seventy-two percent of New York survey respondents said they have seen hospital consolidation in their communities and say this leads to less choice, longer wait times, and fewer services—in addition to driving up healthcare costs overall.

• 72% of New York small business owners responding to the survey say that the consolidation of hospitals in their areas have made the overall availability and quality of healthcare services in their communities worse
• 63% say the availability and cost of health insurance has been negatively impacted by hospital consolidation
• Nearly half of small business owners say that hospital consolidation leads to a lack of competition making hospital services more expensive for employees and eating into their pay.
• 92% say it's important that federal and state governments intervene in the consolidation of health systems
• 94% say that hospitals are unfairly charging high prices leading to high healthcare costs and it's time for price regulation

“Mom and pop business owners are being priced out of the ability to offer health insurance to their employees, and hospital consolidation and pricing are part of the reason why,” said Dr. Gonzalez, who runs a private practice. “The cost of healthcare is holding back their ability to invest in the growth and financial health of their businesses.” 

Small business owners across the country have long said high healthcare costs are their top policy priority. The national survey reaffirms that the expense is stifling the growth of America’s small businesses:

• 45% of small business owners nationally said the rising price of health insurance has led them to delay growth opportunities for their businesses
• 41% said they have increased the cost of goods and services
• More than a third have said they have become less competitive in hiring compared to other companies that provide health benefits

What New York small business owners are saying about the high cost of healthcare and hospital consolidation:



“High healthcare costs have long been a concern for Main Street with many seeing costs increasing every year. It's affecting the potential of so many businesses that can't afford to offer insurance to their employees and struggle scaling because of it. Rising hospital prices contribute to this hardship. Competition is needed to drive down costs.”

Terry Nardone
Mango Moon Studios
Hammondsport, New York

“For decades, hospital consolidations have increased the cost of healthcare for working families and driven up the expense of offering employee healthcare benefits for small business owners. It's time for policymakers to address this issue. As a small business owner, I feel the pain of high health insurance costs that are exacerbated by hospital consolidations. “ 

Chef Russell Jackson,
Reverence Restaurant
Harlem, New York 

“The high cost of health care has long been a top concern for small business owners. Costs are getting even more exorbitant because of hospital consolidations.Small business owners struggle to afford to provide healthcare coverage to their employees, and hospital consolidations that reduce market leverage make it harder for them to continue to offer the benefit—or puts it out of reach altogether. This makes it challenging for them to attract quality candidates and scale their business.” 

Rebecca Koontz,
Bush Crane, Inc.
Morrisville, NY 

"We have owned a small business for seven years and we are in the fourth year of offering health insurance for ourselves and our employees through our business. As a small business, we have paid higher rates than large companies, with confusing offerings, spent hours and hours dealing with the complicated processes and each year it's more expensive for less benefits. We have not found any real relief or direction to help small businesses in this area. We need our leaders to work on solutions.” 

Patrick Hall,  Elan Flowers
New York, NY 

View the full survey report here. 

To schedule an interview with a representative from Small Business for America’s Future contact: Janel Knight Trulear at janel@emccommunications.com or (617) 875-6581.

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About Small Business for America’s Future

Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We’re committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize the nation’s 30 million small businesses to create an economy that works for them, their workers and their communities. Visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #SmallBizAF.