AHP Legislation Passes the House – Again

Small business owners are applauding the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005 moving out of committee in the House of Representatives earlier this week – but many people realize this that this has happened before. The real trick is to get the bill to move through the Senate and onto the President’s desk.

The Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005 (H.R. 525, S. 406) is legislation that would create Association Health Plans (AHPs) and allow business owners the opportunity to provide health insurance for their employees through a state or national assocation. With as many as one-third of small business owners not able to provide health care benefits, according to the Lawn & Landscape 2004 State of the Industry report, this legislation could be extremely helpful.

“In the green industry, business owners’ costs keep rising with the price of fuel going up, as well as workers’ compensation and other insurance rates,” says Tom Delaney, director of government affairs for the Professional Landcare Network. “Association Health Plans would make it easier for these companies to access the health insurance coverage that they and their employees need at a price that’s more reasonable.”

In sum, AHPs associations in an array of industries could work with insurers to create industry-specific health plans with just the right benefits for their members. For a given association, this set of benefits would be sold nationwide to any association members who choose to join. Moreover, businesses that belong to more than one association buying into AHPs would have that many more options available. Administrative costs also would be reduced for companies who choose to participate because AHPs can avoid the costs of complying with state benefit mandates. However, if a company is already happy with the health coverage they have, they’re welcome to continue using it.

Originally introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) in 2003 as H.R. 660, the Small Business Health Fairness Act was passed in the House twice last year and has come around successfully in 2005, as well. The National Federation of Independent Businesses reported Wednesday that The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the Small Business Health Fairness Act by a vote of 25-22 following a full day of debate. The legislation will now move on to the full House of Representatives where a vote is expected late this spring or early this summer. For any piece of legislation, this is a legitimate hurdle to overcome. However, proponents of the bill know that the real trick comes in putting the bill through the Senate.

“Last year, the bill went through the House twice and they’ve passed it again to show just to show the Senate that it’s an important issue worth looking at,” Delaney says. “So far, it seems that Members on the Senate side are listening more to state insurance commissioners who are opposed to the bill.”

Pushing the bill through the Senate will require significant input from individuals who support the bill, namely small business owners. Delaney says he and the Professional Landcare Network will be attending a legislative fly-in with the American Society of Association Executives in early April and that the organization hopes to make their case for the bill during meetings with congrerssmembers and their staffs.

In a recent Lawn & Landscape Online poll, 20 percent of contractors said they believed AHPs would help the industry and that they’d join the program right away. Another 4 percent also said they would join if the legislation passed, but hoped for more far-reaching reform, while 12 percent said they would probably join after the program showed success. At the same time, 12 percent of contractors said their health insurance rates are already at a reasonable, so AHPs wouldn’t help the, but a whopping 52 percent were unfamiliar with AHPs at all.

Groups like the Professional Landcare Network hope more of its members learn about the pending legislation and contact their lawmakers to help the bill move all the way to the President’s desk. For more information on AHPs, visit the AHP Coalition’s Web site at www.ahpsnow.com, or visit click below for links to the House and Senate versions of the bill. Additionally, visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov for information on how to contact Members of Congress from your state and voice your opinion.