A new report from the Community Service Society of New York highlights the soaring costs and growing inequities in New York’s healthcare system, tracing them back to decades of deregulation. The findings paint a stark picture: New York has the second-highest healthcare spending per person in the U.S., with hospital costs outpacing wages and inflation, while access to quality care remains inconsistent.
Since New York deregulated hospital pricing and insurance rates in the 1990s, healthcare costs have tripled. The report points to hospital consolidation as a major driver of price inflation, with the state’s six largest private hospital systems now controlling over 42% of inpatient beds and charging commercial insurance rates nearly four times higher than Medicare. Meanwhile, 53 hospitals have closed in the past 28 years, disproportionately affecting communities of color.
Despite its high costs, the report finds that New York’s hospitals struggle with quality, with an average federal quality rating of 2.4 out of 5 stars—below the national average of 3.1 stars. The report also highlights that 70% of emergency room visits in the state are for non-emergencies, suggesting a failure in primary care access.
To address these issues, the report suggests several policy solutions, including implementing an All Payer Claims Database to improve pricing transparency, restricting hospital mergers, capping hospital outpatient prices, and investing more in primary care. It also recommends creating a state entity similar to California’s Office of Health Care Affordability to regulate costs and improve healthcare equity.
With healthcare costs continuing to rise, the report calls on New York policymakers to take immediate action to prevent further financial burdens on residents and improve healthcare access across the state.
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