What is an Association Health Plan (AHP)?
Association Health Plans (AHPs) are health insurance plans set up by established professional and trade associations for their members. AHPs allow small businesses to band together to negotiate better deals with insurance companies, lower administrative costs, and bypass costly state mandates and regulations. Where does Association Health Plan legislation stand? The House of Representatives has passed AHP legislation several times, but the Senate has never acted. In July of 2005, the House passed H.R. 525, the Small Business Health Fairness Act. Under H.R. 525, AHPs would be regulated by the Department of Labor and subject to a variety of consumer protections. The bill was referred to the Senates Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions where it awaited review. In May of 2007, H.R. 241, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2007 (Inglis was a co-sponsor to bill) was reintroduced in the 110th Congress where it was referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor,
