Association Health Plans Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedAdditional sponsors: Mr. Owens, Mr. Harris of North Carolina, Mr. …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Walberg (for himself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Onder, Mr. Crenshaw, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends ERISA to make it easier for groups of employers—including those in different industries—to band together to form Association Health Plans (AHPs) that provide health insurance to their employees. It establishes requirements for these associations and allows modified community rating for premium pricing.
Who Benefits and How
- Small businesses and self-employed individuals benefit from access to larger risk pools, potentially lowering premium costs
- Trade associations and business groups gain new revenue opportunities as plan sponsors
- Insurance brokers and third-party administrators see expanded business opportunities in the AHP market
Who Bears the Burden and How
- State insurance regulators face reduced oversight authority as AHPs may fall under federal ERISA preemption
- Traditional small-group insurance carriers face new competition from AHPs
- Individual consumers in ACA marketplace plans may see adverse selection as healthier employers join AHPs
Key Provisions
- Allows employer associations across different industries to form AHPs
- Requires 51+ employees aggregated across all member employers
- Allows modified community rating with employer-specific risk adjustments
- Maintains existing ERISA Part 7 protections (pre-existing conditions, etc.)
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Expands access to Association Health Plans (AHPs) by allowing groups of employers across different industries to band together to offer health insurance coverage to their employees
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Expand small business access to group health insurance by allowing cross-industry associations"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An employer with at least 1 common law employee, or a group of at least 20 self-employed individuals aggregated together
A group treated as an employer for ERISA purposes if it: has 51+ aggregated employees, has existed 2+ years, formed for purposes other than providing medical care, does not condition membership on health status
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology