Small businesses, including body repair shops, could benefit from proposed Association Healthcare Plans (AHP) legislation that would allow members of business associations to band together at the national level to purchase health care insurance for employees. AHP legislation HR 660 has passed the House of Representatives (HR), but the Senate has not yet approved its version, Senate Bill (SB) 545. Because time is running out on the Senate’s ability to pass its legislation, the AHP coalition of associations has called on small businesses to contact their senators to ask them to support SB 545.
“We think small business entities have a right to an option to participate,” says Bob Redding, Washington, D.C., representative for the Automotive Services Association (ASA), which is a member of the AHP coalition—and also the type of association likely to start an insurance plan if the law were to pass.
Redding stressed, however, that there is a fairly narrow time window to gain Senate approval. The Senate takes a break beginning in July and then reconvenes for just a short time after Labor Day.
“The benefits of the legislation to small businesses are simple—lower rates and more choices,” says Marc Freedman, regulatory counsel for the Senate committee on small business. “Depending on the state, small businesses may have only one insurance carrier willing to handle them, or maybe only a few. If association health plans are created, businesses will have more choices. Association health plans will increase competition, which will lead to lower rates.”
If passed, the legislation would enable associations to offer insurance through self-funding or through a fully insured model using insurance companies.
The SB 545 bill currently is sponsored by nine Republican senators, and more sponsors may be needed in order for it to pass.
