WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today applauded the administration’s plan to expand access to affordable health care for Americans by offering self-employed Americans and those employed by small businesses the same advantages in purchasing low-cost health insurance that are available through larger employers.

The finalized rule announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor follows President Donald Trump’s October 2017 executive order directing the secretary of labor to consider expanding access to association health plans. The new rule would expand choices and alternatives to Obamacare plans and increase competition to bring down costs for consumers. The administration’s new proposal would also protect Americans by requiring coverage for individuals with pre-existing health conditions.

“I have long supported association health plans, because as a small businessman myself, I understand what this would mean for the millions of Americans who work at small businesses,” said Isakson. “Today’s news could not have come soon enough as costs are spiraling. We must continue to seek improvements to the healthcare system for more Americans, but this is an important step forward to get more affordable health care for some who don’t currently have access.”

Last week, on June 15, Isakson sent a letter along with 29 other Republican senators to Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and Employee Benefits Security Administration Assistant Secretary Preston Rutledge, urging the expansion of association health plans. The letter argued that the expansion would help more than 20 million Americans who could benefit and would be able to “receive the patient protections that apply to the roughly 160 million Americans who receive coverage from large employers.”

Specifically, the rule announced by the administration today would allow employers to:

• Form association health plans by city, county, state or multi-state metropolitan area;
• Form association health plans for businesses specific to an industry; and
• Allow working small business owners without other employees, including sole proprietors and their families to join association health plans.

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