A neighborhood restaurant or plumbing company will never have the purchasing clout of a Fortune 500 corporation on its own. But there is no reason federal policy should prevent hundreds of those businesses from joining forces to bargain for a better deal. Expanding association health plans would help them do so.
Small businesses have struggled with the rising cost of health insurance for years. The Trump administration may soon give them a meaningful way to fight back.
The Labor Department has submitted a proposed rule to the White House that would establish new pathways for groups of employers to band together and sponsor association health plans, or AHPs. By combining workers from many firms, AHPs can give small businesses the scale, bargaining power and benefits-management sophistication that large employers already possess.
The timing could hardly be better. Ninety-four percent of Americans say the president and Congress should act on healthcare costs. And 79% of likely voters in nine Senate battleground states say healthcare costs will be very important to their vote.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Association Health Plans Could Give Small Businesses A Break On Health Costs
Sally C. Pipes
A neighborhood restaurant or plumbing company will never have the purchasing clout of a Fortune 500 corporation on its own. But there is no reason federal policy should prevent hundreds of those businesses from joining forces to bargain for a better deal. Expanding association health plans would help them do so.
Small businesses have struggled with the rising cost of health insurance for years. The Trump administration may soon give them a meaningful way to fight back.
The Labor Department has submitted a proposed rule to the White House that would establish new pathways for groups of employers to band together and sponsor association health plans, or AHPs. By combining workers from many firms, AHPs can give small businesses the scale, bargaining power and benefits-management sophistication that large employers already possess.
The timing could hardly be better. Ninety-four percent of Americans say the president and Congress should act on healthcare costs. And 79% of likely voters in nine Senate battleground states say healthcare costs will be very important to their vote.
Read the entire op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.