A group of nine New York labor unions that provide health coverage have joined to launch the Coalition for Affordable Hospitals to bring down rising hospital costs, the Gothamist reported Oct. 19.
The State Council of Churches and patientrightsadvocate.org, a nonprofit that promotes healthcare price transparency, are also part of the coalition.
The group said it is hoping to persuade legislators to give health plans more control over the price of healthcare. It is also fighting to end hospital consolidation, which allows large, private hospitals to buy up independent hospitals, gain a bigger share of the market and charge higher prices, the coalition said.
Between 2013 and 2017, per capita spending on hospital care in New York increased by 30 percent, according to a report by the New York State Health Foundation.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in particular was called out by the coalition. It said the hospital charges more than 3½ times the price Medicare pays for care, according to the Gothamist.