Are Rising Health Insurance Costs Putting Pressure on Your Practice?
Friday, January 30, 2026
Rising Health Insurance Costs Put New Pressure on Physician Practices—MSSNY Offers Member Support
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- Key Point / Outcome: Employer-sponsored health insurance costs rose 6% in 2025 and are projected to increase another 6.7% in 2026, outpacing wage growth and inflation.
- Why It Matters for New York Physicians: Small and independent practices face growing difficulty sustaining affordable coverage for staff and families.
- Impact on Practice: Higher premiums, reduced benefits, and increased out-of-pocket costs affect recruitment, retention, and financial stability.
- What MSSNY Is Doing: Providing members with access to independent insurance guidance through Creative Wealth Planning.
For physicians already navigating staffing shortages, administrative complexity, and rising operating costs, health insurance affordability has become another growing pressure point. Recent national data shows employer-sponsored health insurance now averages $17,496 per employee, rising 6% in 2025 alone, with another 6.7% increase projected for 2026, well above both wage growth and inflation.
Research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) indicates that small employers are driving much of the decline in health plan sponsorship nationwide. As Paul Fronstin, director of health benefits research at EBRI, noted, continued premium growth could accelerate the erosion of coverage among firms with fewer than 100 employees. For physicians in private practice or smaller groups, this trend translates into difficult choices about benefit design, higher deductibles, narrower networks, or absorbing costs that directly affect practice sustainability.
Even when coverage remains available, large employers are increasingly shifting expenses to workers through higher out-of-pocket costs. The result is greater financial insecurity for staff, increased reliance on public programs, and additional strain on physician-led practices striving to remain competitive employers while prioritizing patient care.
MSSNY recognizes that insurance decisions should not become another administrative burden for physicians. As the Voice of New York Physicians, the Society works to connect members with practical tools that protect both their practices and their teams. Through its member benefit partnership with Creative Wealth Planning, MSSNY offers independent guidance on medical, dental, vision, life, disability, long-term care, and Medicare coverage for self-employed physicians, sole proprietors, and groups ranging from two to 500 employees.
Creative Wealth Planning is an independent insurance agency with decades of experience and appointments across major national carriers, including Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, and others. Their advisors assist physicians in evaluating plan options, managing renewals, and supporting staff enrollment—reducing administrative workload while helping practices secure appropriate coverage at sustainable costs.
Your colleagues across the state are facing the same pressures. MSSNY continues to advocate for systemic reform while delivering member benefits that provide immediate, practical support for physicians and their practices. Renewing your membership, or joining for the first time, ensures you remain connected to these resources and strengthens the collective voice of New York physicians working to protect patient care and practice sustainability.
Small Business Health Insurance Coverage at Risk as Costs Rise, EBRI Finds (Christ, HealthcareDive, 1/22).
Poster Symposium Judges Needed
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Are you attending MSSNY’s House of Delegates? Would you be interested in serving as an in-person Judge at this year’s symposium? We can certainly use your assistance. Judging for the Symposium will be held from 12:00 Noon – 3:00 PM on Friday, March 27 in the Grand Lilac Ballroom at the Rochester Convention Center. This is an important event that allows students and residents to present their important research work. Please contact Kathy Rohrer at [email protected] if you are available to assist.
Join Us for MSSNY Physician Advocacy Day
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MSSNY’s Physician Advocacy Day will take place on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Meeting Room 6 of the Empire State Plaza in Albany, from 7:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The timing is deliberate: both the Assembly and Senate will be finalizing their one-house budgets, setting the direction for negotiations with the Governor. This is when physician input is most likely to influence outcomes.
During the morning session, physicians, residents, and medical students will hear directly from legislative leaders and the Commissioner of Health, with opportunities to ask questions about healthcare priorities that affect patient access and practice stability. In the afternoon, participants will meet with their elected officials in sessions organized by local county medical societies, ensuring that physicians living and practicing in their districts raise their concerns.
This year’s advocacy agenda reflects challenges physicians encounter every day: advancing prior authorization reform to reduce care delays, protecting the independent dispute resolution process, defeating proposals that would shift excess malpractice insurance costs onto physicians, preserving physician-led team-based care, and maintaining the role of county medical societies in the workers’ compensation process.
Your colleagues across the state are facing these same pressures. Advocacy Day transforms individual frustrations into a unified professional voice, one that legislators are far more likely to hear and respect.
As the Voice of New York Physicians, MSSNY coordinates the logistics, policy briefings, and legislative meetings, so your time away from patients is efficient and focused on impact. If medicine is your profession, then health policy is your business.
Dr. Charles Lopresto Appointed Chief Medical Officer at Silvercrest Center
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MSSNY proudly recognizes Dr. Charles Lopresto, a member since 2018 and Councilor of the Organized Medical Staff Section, on his appointment as Chief Medical Officer and Director of Medical Services at The Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, a New York-Presbyterian affiliate serving Queens and surrounding communities. After more than three and a half years as a hospital-based internal medicine physician, Dr. Lopresto now brings his clinical experience to post-acute care and chronic disease management. In his new role, Dr. Lopresto will oversee medical services while advancing evidence-based, patient-centered care for one of the most diverse patient populations in the nation.
MSSNY remains committed to standing alongside members like Dr. Lopresto, elevating physician leadership, safeguarding the practice of medicine, and strengthening care delivery across every setting. In amplifying accomplishments, MSSNY continues its role as The Voice of New York Physicians and welcomes members interested in being featured to connect with us.
How You Can Report Antisemitic Incidents
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Antisemitism in health care, and in the general population, has seen an enormous uptick in recent years. Antisemitic incidents in New York State have increased 626% between 2015 and 2024. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is the leading anti-hate organization in the world and has been fighting all forms of antisemitism and bias since 1913. If you have experienced or witnessed an incident of antisemitism, please go to adl.org/reportincident and make a report.
Governor’s Budget Could Spell Disaster for Many Physicians – Plan NOW to be in Albany on March 10th
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Winter 2026 Women Physicians Leadership Academy
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Registration is now open for the Winter 2026 Women Physicians Leadership Academy. Sign up now for the next three sessions in this engaging, illuminating, and empowering series.
CME Series on Pain Management, Palliative Care & Addiction as Required by New York State Statute
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One of the most consequential is the state statute requiring all prescribers holding a DEA license to complete three hours of coursework in pain management, palliative care, and addiction every three years.
To reduce both cost and administrative friction, MSSNY is offering an updated three-part CME webinar series free of charge to members. Developed in collaboration with the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), the program fully covers all eight state-required topic areas, including appropriate prescribing, management of acute and chronic pain, substance use disorder screening, legal requirements, and end-of-life care.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 @ 7:30-8:30a.m.
Understanding the Current Legal Landscape in New York State for Prescribing Controlled Substances
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 @ 7:30-8:30a.m.
When to Consider Opioid Therapy for Chronic Non-Cancer & Palliative Care
Wednesday, March 11 @ 7:30-8:30a.m.
Patients with Opioid Use Disorders: Identification, Treatment, and Management of Co-occurring Pain
Faculty include state policy leaders and nationally recognized clinicians, such as Greg Meyer, Esq., Deputy Counsel at OASAS; Pamela Mund, MD, Chief of Addiction Medicine for New York State; Charles Argoff, MD; and Jeffrey Selzer, MD.
Following the live sessions, the courses will remain available on the MSSNY CME website at no cost to members. Non-members will be charged $50 per course, reinforcing one of the tangible financial advantages of MSSNY membership.
Because Your Livelihood Deserves Trusted Protection
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February is insurance check-up season. Sellers Insurance has protected MSSNY members for over 75 years with exclusive discounts on disability, home, and auto coverage—all with in-house claims support.
