Press Releases

Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) re-introduced H.R. 2528, the Association Health Plans Act, legislation that will expand health care choices for small businesses and self-employed individuals through association health plans (AHPs).

AHPs are a type of group plan that allows multiple employers to band together to purchase health coverage to access group rates, access broader networks, and avoid pricey plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. By joining together, small businesses are able to save money and offer their employees better health care options. 

“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. 

Background: 

In 2018, the Trump administration published a final rule to expand AHPs by enabling a broader group of small businesses, including self-employed individuals, to be eligible to form an AHP. At the time of the implementation of the rule, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that 400,000 people who would have been uninsured would enroll in AHPs, and 3.3 million people would enroll in AHPs who would have had other coverage (many coming from the individual marketplace), resulting in 3.7 million additional people enrolling in AHPs. The Biden-Harris administration rescinded the rule. H.R. 2528, the Association Health Plans Act codifies this 2018 rule into law.

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