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By joining you gain access to exclusive, money saving discounts on services and programs, legislative updates and advocacy as well as valuable educational opportunities. We aim to help you grow and protect your business, promote the retail industry and save your business money. Click here to JOIN NOW!
Swipe Fees Are Hurting Massachusetts Businesses
Lawmakers Are Listening – But They Need to Hear from You
The Massachusetts Special Legislative Commission to Study the Future of Payments and Sales Transactions by Credit Card is holding a public hearing to hear directly from MA business owners and consumers about swipe fees—and their real-world impact.
This is your chance to speak up.
Swipe fees hit a record $198.25 billion in 2025, and small businesses feel the squeeze every day. Rising interchange and processing fees cut into already thin margins, making it harder to stay competitive, keep prices down, and invest in local communities.
Click here for RAM Member Alert: Swipe Fee Reform in MA - how to attend hearing or submit testimony.
Click here to access RAM VoterVoice Campaign to send messages to your elected officials and Governor Healey.
RAM IN THE NEWS:
By Jeffrey Gold, MD & Jon Hurst
April 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the Massachusetts Health Care reform law, Chapter 58, which became the model for the Affordable Care Act. The goal of the law was to expand access to health insurance coverage for all residents, address uncompensated care and build transparency tools to better understand affordability.
While some may want to celebrate Chapter 58, many remain concerned about a health care system that is among the most expensive in the nation. Twenty years of paying for near universal health coverage is taking a toll on taxpayers, businesses and families. To keep reading this blog post, click here.
Testimony of Jon Hurst, President
Before the MA Health Policy Commission &
Jt. Committee on Health Care Financing
2027 Health Care Cost Growth Benchmark
April 1, 2026
Click image above to read blog on healthcare costs.
RAMHIC Offerings for 2026
RAMHIC continues to partner with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to offer members access to the carrier's entire portfolio of high quality, small group health insurance plans.
All members purchasing their health insurance coverage through the cooperative will also receive an expanded list of ancillary benefits, FREE of charge.
Please see our brochure for more detail on the expanded benefit package. Specific information regarding each benefit may be found below:
For more information please visit the RAMHIC page of our website.
Jon Hurst, RAM President & CEO, discussed Healthcare Costs with Sarah Iselin, President & CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts at the RAM Annual Meeting Awards Luncheon.
RAM Launches Advertising Campaign on Addressing High Costs In Massachusetts
It has been well documented that the high cost of living, and the high cost of doing business in the Commonwealth is hurting our economy and competitiveness. National census numbers have been clear that we are annually losing population to other lower cost states, and the additional dark storefronts of small stores and restaurants have continued six years past COVID.
It is imperative that our elected officials now look in the mirror and lower the costs of certain counterproductive state public policies which are hurting the disposable incomes of our working families, and therefore lowering sales on Main Streets. And those very same small businesses seeing lower customer sales are also injured in their costs of operations by the very same mandated costs affecting our consumers. Click here to keep reading this article.
RAM Applauds MA House Passage of Energy Affordability Bill
Last week at the State House, the MA House of Representatives debated and passed H.5175, An Act relative to energy affordability, clean power and economic competitiveness, a significant bill to address energy affordability in the Commonwealth. The bill cuts $1 billion from the Mass Save program, a well-intentioned program but one that has ballooned over the years, funded by assessments on ratepayers, to become the primary tool in financing the state’s decarbonization efforts. The bill also returns 70% of alternative compliance payments (ACPs) to ratepayers over three years, expands clean energy procurement authority, and reduces barriers to possible future nuclear development.
House leadership estimated the reforms will save ratepayers roughly $3 billion in the coming years. RAM thanks and congratulates the House for their committed focus on energy affordability, noting that the bill directly confronts our energy affordability challenges and will lower costs for our small businesses, consumers, and families struggling with rising utility bills.
While more work lies ahead, last week’s action was a significant and important step forward. The bill now moves to the Senate.
Small Businesses are drowning in hidden energy costs
MA Senate Advances Small Business Unit Pricing Exemption Bill
In the Senate, RAM supported legislation was unanimously approved to update the state’s Unit Pricing small business exemption. S.2978, An Act updating the unit pricing exemption threshold, carves out gift cards and lottery products from the calculation of total gross sales, allowing more small operators to qualify for the exemption under the existing $5 million sales threshold. The bill also adds “motor fuels” to the exempt list as well, codifying in statute the existing exemption on gasoline, which currently relies on an “in-store sales” interpretation.
This action to update our unit pricing law’s small business exemption provides important cost relief to vital community partners – small, neighborhood markets and convenience stores. RAM applauds the Senate for their leadership on this issue. The bill now moves to the House.
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