Senate health and labor committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on Thursday said “the Department of Labor’s proposed health insurance rule could make insurance available to 11 million self-employed or small business employees—like farmers, or songwriters, or small businessmen and women—who today are priced out of our health insurance system.”
Chairman Alexander made his comments after the Department of Labor released its proposed rule to allow more self-employed Americans and small businesses to band together to provide a small business health plan, otherwise known as an Association Health Plan (AHP)—which helps those employers reduce health insurance costs.
Senator Alexander said, “The rule would give these individuals and small business employees the same sort of lower cost insurance opportunities that the 178 million Americans have who buy insurance through their employers.
These policies will also have the same sort of consumer protections that employees of large companies have such as protections against being charged higher premiums for having a pre-existing condition.”
“If made final, this rule should help up to 11 million hard working Americans who don’t have access to employer sponsored coverage and in addition provide new, more affordable options to Americans in the individual market who are getting hammered by skyrocketing premiums.
“Today’s announcement begins a 60-day window for employers and the general public to make comments on the proposed rule and