North Dakota small business owners lament rising healthcare costs, credit card swipe fees

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., center, speaks during a small business roundtable next to Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., and Don Larson, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business North Dakota, at Balancing Goat Coffee Shop in Mandan on May 4, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

Small business owners expressed concerns about rising healthcare costs and credit card transaction fees during a roundtable discussion Monday with North Dakota Rep. Julie Fedorchak and Sen. John Hoeven.

The discussion organized by the North Dakota chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business focused on tax benefits for businesses through passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But when participants got a chance to speak, a majority of the business owners said health insurance costs and transaction fees are eating into their bottom lines.

At Riverwood RV in Mandan, about six full-time employees get their health insurance covered by the business, said Jim Miller, owner/partner.

"That's about $82,000 that comes right off the top," Miller said.

Tricia Schlosser, a broker and owner of Century 21 Morrison Realty in Bismarck, said she recently lost an employee to a different employer because the business couldn't provide a comparable health insurance plan. She added many of the realty office's independent contractors also struggle to find affordable health insurance.

Fedorchak, a Republican, said the cost of healthcare has skyrocketed since the Affordable Care Act was implemented.

Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., center, speaks during a small business roundtable discussion next to Sen. John Hoeven, left, R-N.D., and Don Larson, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business North Dakota, at Balancing Goat Coffee Co. in Mandan on May 4, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

"Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done there," Fedorchak said. She added some healthcare reforms could be included in a 2026 tax reconciliation package that would require a majority vote in each chamber of Congress.

"I think the healthcare system is broken because the people who are using it are completely disconnected from the process," she said. "I think the central piece of the solution in healthcare is putting the people who are getting the healthcare back in the driver's seat, not the insurance companies."

The enhanced premium tax credits for people purchasing health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace expired at the end of 2025, leading to higher cost plans in 2026.

Fedorchak said healthcare costs continued to increase after the enhanced premium tax credits were implemented in 2021 and were not working to lower costs.

Hoeven, also a Republican, said implementing a test to ensure those with lower income levels have access to the credits and sending the tax credit to the individual instead of the insurance company would allow consumers to purchase the coverage they want.

"That's empowering the individual," Hoeven said.

At Balancing Goat Coffee Co. in Mandan, credit card fees of 2.6% plus a 10-cent fee per transaction are costly for the small business, said co-owner Dawn Hager.

Dawn Hager, co-owner of Balancing Goat Coffee Co. in Mandan, speaks during a small business roundtable discussion next to Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., on May 4, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

"Our transactions are small and that 10 cents adds up with every transaction," Hager said. "That's almost like $10,000 just with the 10 cents added up, and that's what we're paying to the credit card companies."

She said if the transaction fees remain unchanged, it could lead to increasing coffee prices for customers.

"In order to make up for that, we're going to have to start charging $5 to $7 for a cup of coffee, and nobody wants to pay that much for coffee," she said.

Hoeven said consumers have benefited from the cash back and other benefits attached to their credit cards, but a solution to increasing swipe fees needs to be fair to the consumer and the business.

"We need to keep working on it and come up with something that works," Hoeven said.

Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association, said the association has been trying to fight credit card transaction fees for the last decade.

In 2025, about $198 billion was collected in swipe fees for credit and debit cards from American consumers, an increase of about $11 billion over 2024, according to Merchants Payments Coalition. The coalition began tracking transaction fees in 2009 when the swipe fees collected was $62 billion.

"Right now, on a $4 gallon of gas, our members are paying 12-cents per gallon in processing fees," Rud said. "That's $2.40 on a 20-gallon tank."

Don Larson, state director for the NFIB, said swipe fees are a big issue for small businesses, and most people in North Dakota are employed by small businesses.

"It's a complex issue and there's not an easy solution," Larson said. He added the NFIB supports the Credit Card Competition Act, which would give small businesses options when selecting a credit card processing network.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com.

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Courtesy of North Dakota Monitor