High Country Times

Today, Congressman Tim Walberg, the Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, reintroduced H.R. 2528, known as the Association Health Plans Act. This legislative effort aims to enhance health care options for small businesses and those who are self-employed through the use of association health plans (AHPs).

Association health plans are group insurance plans that provide small businesses the opportunity to come together and purchase health coverage. This allows them to access reduced group rates, expand network options, and avoid the higher costs associated with plans in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. By joining these plans, small businesses can reduce costs and offer improved health care options to their employees.

"Since small businesses have fewer employees, they often have weaker bargaining power when it comes to negotiating lower insurance costs and higher coverage for their workers. For years, working families have struggled with rising costs, including health care. The Association Health Plans Act provides innovative health care solutions to bring down health care costs for small businesses and in turn, their employees,” said Chairman Walberg.

The legislation draws from the Trump administration's 2018 rule, which expanded AHPs by allowing a wider range of small businesses, including self-employed individuals, to create such plans. The Congressional Budget Office at that time estimated that 400,000 uninsured individuals would join AHPs, along with 3.3 million people transitioning from other coverage, primarily from individual marketplaces, thereby increasing AHP enrollment by 3.7 million. However, the Biden-Harris administration later rescinded this rule. H.R. 2528 seeks to solidify the 2018 rule into law.