The Association Health Plans Act would expand the ability of groups of employers and self-employed individuals to band together to offer health insurance coverage through association health plans (AHPs), treating these groups as single employers for regulatory purposes. Under the bill, a qualifying AHP must have at least 51 members, exist for at least two years, maintain a democratically governed board, and cannot discriminate based on health status when enrolling members or setting premiums. The legislation allows these plans to use modified community rating to set base premiums while adjusting rates based on individual employer risk profiles, and it permits self-employed individuals with no employees to join AHPs and be treated as both employers and employees. The bill protects consumers by requiring AHPs to comply with existing health insurance regulations, including prohibitions on pre-existing condition exclusions and health-based discrimination in premiums, though the legislation specifies that offering health benefits through an AHP does not create an employer-employee relationship between the group and individual workers. The bill does not include specific new funding or implementation timelines beyond its effective date provisions.
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