W EEKLY EDITION JULY 18, 2018
Trump Admin Expands AHPs, insurance plans to move forward
KOS AHP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
This exemption is n ecessary so that trade associations would be eligible to set up health plans their members in multiple states
could access.
The final rule requires that an AHP must be sponsored by a group of
employers and/or self - employed individuals who themselves are co nsidered
employers. An existing trade association like the PSAI would be eligible to
form an AHP, for example. It does not require that AHPs meet the minimum
coverage standards in the Affordable Care Act commonly known as
Obamacare.
The new rule attempts t o strengthen oversight of AHPs by requiring
associations to have a formal organizational structure with a governing body
and bylaws so they can act in the interests of participating employers and ensure claims are paid.
The rule has already been challenged by attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts, who filed suit to block the
administration from offering plans that don't have to cover all of the Affordable Care Act's essential health benefits.
"We will sue to safeguard the protections under the Aff ordable Care Act and ensure
that all families and small businesses have access to quality, affordable health care,"
the attorneys general said in a statement.
The Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce announced recently it plans to be
among the first busines s groups to take advantage of the rule expanding association
health plans (AHPs).
The Las Vegas chamber hopes to start an AHP for Nevada small businesses and sole
proprietors by September 1, according to reports. The chamber offered an AHP for
nearly 30 y ears that covered roughly 20,000 people until 2014, when chamber officials
say provisions in the Affordable Care Act made it unfeasible to continue.
Las Vegas Chamber CEO Mary Beth Sewald told the Nevada Independent that the
chamber is looking at all of i ts options but wants to "provide the most robust plan we can possibly get." Because of its history with
such plans and its one - state service area, the chamber will not experience many of the complicated issues that offering an AHP for
multi - state associati ons like the PSAI present.
ASAE is in the midst of analyzing the final rule to determine its viability, pros and cons, and other essential facts for ass ociations that
are interested in forming an AHP. Over the next several weeks ASAE will be discussing th e new rul e with a wide range of eligible
asso ciations to address any policy concerns not clearly resolved in the final rule.
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