USHCC Pushes for Affordable Healthcare Access for Small Businesses; Topeka Chamber Signs Letter of Support
September 30, 2026
The Honorable Members of Congress United States House of Representatives and Senate Washington, DC 20515
Re: Make Health Insurance More Affordable for America’s Small Businesses
Dear Members of Congress: On behalf of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) and the undersigned local Hispanic chambers of commerce, we urge Congress to make health insurance affordability a central part of the small-business and economic competitiveness agenda.
We talk frequently about helping small businesses do more with less. In order to make this possible, we must examine every major cost on a small business’ balance sheet. For many small employers, health insurance is one of their largest expenses after payroll—and those costs continue to rise.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the average annual family premium for workers at firms with 10 to 199 employees increased from $16,977 in 2015 to $26,054 in 2025, a 53 percent increase. Workers at these smaller firms also contribute substantially more toward family coverage than workers at larger firms, contributing an average of $8,889 annually in 2025. This trend is not sustainable, and small businesses and their success are at risk.
Employers may absorb the increases, squeezing already-thin profit margins and limiting the capital available for hiring, expansion, technology, and investment. Employees may instead bear more of the burden through higher premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs, or through slower wage growth. In either scenario, fewer resources are available for job creation, business investment, and consumer spending.
That is not simply a health-care issue, it is an economic competitiveness issue.
The stakes are particularly significant for America’s Hispanic business community. The United States is home to more than five million Hispanic-owned businesses, and the Hispanic business community contributes more than $900 billion to the U.S. economy each year.
Many Hispanic-owned businesses are newer enterprises operating with thinner margins and more limited access to capital than larger competitors. For these entrepreneurs, an increase in the cost of providing health coverage can have immediate consequences.
We encourage Members of Congress to review a recent op-ed in The Well News, “America Can’t Champion Small Businesses While Pricing Them Out of Health Insurance,” authored by the USHCC President and CEO, Ramiro A. Cavazos, which further examines the relationship between health-care affordability and small-business growth.
The national conversation about healthcare affordability cannot simply ask employers and employees to absorb higher prices or shift costs from one pocket to another.
Congress should examine the underlying market dynamics and practices contributing to rising health-care costs and consider policies that promote greater competition, transparency, and affordability. In particular, we encourage Congress to examine:
- Competition and consolidation in health-insurance and health-care provider markets, including whether excessive consolidation limits competition and increases costs for employers and consumers;
- Administrative costs and unnecessary barriers that add expense to the healthcare system without delivering corresponding improvements in outcomes or patient care;
- Transparency and accountability throughout the health-care supply chain, including the role and practices of pharmacy benefit managers and other intermediaries; and
- Greater predictability, flexibility, and choice for small employers and their workers, recognizing that small businesses often lack the bargaining power and resources available to larger employers.
The objective should be a more competitive, transparent, and efficient healthcare marketplace, one that puts downward pressure on premiums and deductibles, reduces unnecessary costs, and provides small businesses with greater certainty when making decisions about their employees and their future.
Small businesses are among the most important engines of job creation, innovation, and economic opportunity in communities across the country. Hispanic-owned businesses are an increasingly important part of that entrepreneurial economy. The continued growth of these businesses benefits not only Hispanic communities, but the broader American economy. If we want small businesses to hire more, pay more, invest more, and innovate more, we must make it more affordable to employ people.
When it comes to health-care costs, small businesses are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a health-care marketplace that is as competitive and transparent as the marketplaces in which they are required to compete every day.
The USHCC respectfully urges Congress to make small-business health insurance affordability a priority as it considers policies affecting America’s employers, workers, and economic competitiveness. Addressing the underlying drivers of health-care costs will help ensure that small businesses can continue to create jobs, invest in their communities, and contribute to America’s economic growth.
Thank you for your leadership on this critical issue and consideration of these concerns. Should you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, please contact Anthony Hinojosa, Vice President of Government and International Affairs at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, at ahinojosa@ushcc.com.
Sincerely,
Ramiro Cavazos President & CEO U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Luis Vazquez President & CEO Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Michel Zajur Founder & CEO Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Cynthia Sakulenzki President & CEO Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Anna Sauceda Chair of the Corporate Advisory Board Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce
Marcos Wanless President & CEO Seattle Latino Chamber of Commerce
Mayra Pineda President & CEO Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana
Carlos Solórzano-Cuadra CEO Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of San Francisco
Mercedes Young President Tampa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Nicole Davison León Executive Director The Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber in Oregon and SW Washington
Jaime di Paulo President & CEO Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC)
Dr. Nelson Soler, Ph.D., MBA, MS, EDFP, EA President and CEO Latino Chamber of Commerce -SEW
Joel Berrocal Executive Director The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce
Joe V. Aldaz, Jr. President & CEO Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Peter Guzman President Latin Chamber of Commerce, NV
Melanie Marie Boyer Chief Executive Officer PMAHCC
Irma Chavez Founder/Director Executive Arkansas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Yuri Cunza President & CEO Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Rob Elias President/CEO Southern Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Gina Aguirre Adams President/CEO Brazoria County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Tayde Aburto President & CEO Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce Esther
Aurora DeWoody Founder & President Lancaster Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Ronaldo Tello President and CEO Delaware Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Alex Castañeda President and CEO South Central Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Sandy Cajas President & CEO Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce – Southern California
Alvester Gibson President Balch Springs Chamber of Commerce
Nicole Quiroga President and CEO Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Evelyn Lugo President SC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Selene Zamorano CEO South Dakota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Delfine Perales Fox President & CEO TN Latin American Chamber of Commerce
Bob Ross President Topeka Chamber of Commerce
Niko Madrigal President Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Monica Hernandez President First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
John Pacheco President Latino Chamber of Commerce of MN
Luis A. Rodriguez President & CEO San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Sylvia S. Duarte President Antelope Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer I. Rodriguez, MCP President & CEO Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Susana Marino President and CEO Northern Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Mario Farfan Director of Business Programming Northwest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Gladys Gonzalez CEO El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Brisa Guajardo Board President Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Liliam M. Lopez President/CEO South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Guillermo Cisneros President and CEO West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Pauline E. Anton President & CEO Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC)