Background
The House Education and Workforce Committee is slated to mark up a series of legislative proposals, including H.J. Res. 181, a Congressional Review Act resolution to stop the Biden-Harris rule limiting access to association health plans (AHPs).
This Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution was introduced by Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI-05) “to block President Biden’s Department of Labor from rescinding a Trump-era rule that expanded association health plans (AHPs).”
The Value of Association Health Plans
An association health plan is not a novel form of medical insurance. Rather, it is an instrument that provides a group of small businesses access to coverage in the existing large group insurance market. This large group coverage is typically less expensive than the options available in the small group market. Large group health plans are primarily governed by Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and ERISA health plans cover 134 million Americans, making it the single largest insurance market in the country.
These lower-cost ERISA plans provide a way to reverse the decline in small business insurance coverage. High costs have led to a decline in the number of small firms offering health insurance in the twenty-first century. In 2000, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported 47.2 percent of private sector firms with fewer than 50 employees offered health insurance. By 2023, only 30.1 percent offered these benefits.
The Biden-Harris rescission of the 2018 association health plan rule allows large businesses to retain access to lower-cost ERISA health coverage, while small businesses see their access constrained. This unfairness raises questions about whether this reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s bias against small businesses or signals their hostility toward employer-based health insurance in general, foreshadowing future restrictions on the market and Americans’ health care choices.
Congressional Assertion of Article I to Support Working Americans
Congress should generally assert its Article I authority through enhanced use of the CRA tool. In this case, it would be fiscally responsible to overturn the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to restrict working Americans’ health care options. Like other final rules, the Biden-Harris Labor rule on AHPs is subject to the Congressional Review Act. If this resolution of disapproval is ultimately enacted, the 2018 rule would be reinstated, thus reopening the option to the American people of association health plans and enabling small businesses to participate fully in lower-cost ERISA health coverage.
Ultimately, the 2018 AHP rule reflected the will of Congress under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). A more flexible definition of “employer” for the purposes of affordable, desirable health care coverage is in line with the statutory authority granted to the U.S. Department of Labor under ERISA. Further, ensuring more employer-based options in the market reduce the likelihood of greater dependence by American families on government-sponsored or subsidized health care.
This CRA resolution of disapproval, therefore, would simply return the regulation to a pro-growth interpretation that meets with Congressional approval and benefits the American people – as is appropriate in the Legislative Branch’s execution of its oversight responsibilities.
A Pattern of Biden-Harris Regulatory Overreach
The decision to roll back the pro-growth rule from 2018 is nothing new for the Biden-Harris Administration. According to the latest tally from the American Action Forum, the total cost of all final rules (so far!) in the Biden-Harris Administration is a staggering $1.68 trillion dollars. This is on top of the 324.7 million hours of paperwork imposed. Even the Obama Administration – which previously held the record – only imposed $322.4 billion of new regulatory costs and 260.1 million hours of paperwork, and that was over eight years, not three and a half. The Trump Administration was able to achieve a net regulatory cost reduction across the entire Executive Branch for all four years, and it did so by advancing pro-market reforms like the AHP rule from 2018. Reinstating that rule is a positive step in undoing Biden-Harris regulatory overreach.
The House Seizes an Opportunity
H.J. Res. 181 represents an important opportunity to reassert Congress’s prerogative and push back against government intervention in Americans’ personal lives. Overturning this damaging Biden-Harris Labor rule and reinstating the 2018 rule expanding access to Association Health Plans would improve health care options, reduce costs, and support small businesses. Taken together, these improvements have a positive effect on the economy and working Americans.
