¶ Expanding Certain Small Businesses To Join An AHP While Reducing Health Insurance Standards
2017: Schweikert Voted To Expand Small Businesses' Capability To Sponsor Association Health Plans (AHPs) While Exempting The Plans From Most State Laws And Regulations. In March 2017, Schweikert voted for legislation designed to expand small businesses' ability to sponsor AHPs. According to Congressional Quarterly, "This bill expands the ability of trade and business associations to sponsor association health plans (AHPs), through which member companies can offer group health insurance to their employees. To encourage the creation of new AHPs, it exempts AHPs from most state laws and regulations and allows AHPs to set their own health insurance standards, with few mandated requirements. It requires that all AHPs be sponsored by bona fide, established trade or business associations in which dues-paying businesses are members, and that sponsored health plans be certified by the Labor Department. Insurers would be permitted to sell policies identical to an AHP policy to other businesses in the state that are not members of the trade or business association." The vote was on passage. The House passed the legislation by a vote of 236 to 175. The Senate took no substantive action on the legislation. [House Vote 186, 3/22/17; Congressional Quarterly, 3/17/17; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1101]
- Legislation Would, By Exempting These Plans From Regulation, Eliminate Current Minimum Standards Of Health Care, Such As Requirements On Comprehensive Coverage Or Preventative Care. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Opponents of the bill, primarily Democrats, argue that while association health plans can provide a valuable means of providing health care coverage to employees of certain small businesses, the bill would undermine critical worker protections to small-business employees by exempting association health plans from many state laws and regulations, including those involving health care, consumer protection, and grievance and appeals. Allowing association health plans to determine their own benefits would directly eliminate current minimum standards of health care, they say, such as requirements for preventative care and comprehensive coverage, and will result in a dramatic scaling back of health benefits to covered workers and a dramatic shift of health care costs onto those employees. Even worse, they say, is that it allows the insurers providing an AHP health plan to also offer identical plans to businesses that are not part of the business or trade association, which will increase the 'race to the bottom' of insurers offering substandard plans." [Congressional Quarterly, 3/17/17]