NAR recently co-founded a broad multi-industry coalition (ranging from state Farm Bureaus to NFIB) to promote and preserve the Department of Labor (DOL) final rule expanding access to Association Health Plans (AHPs). Download the press release and announcementpdf.
Under previous rules, most small businesses and working owners, including real estate professionals, could not join AHPs, which often offer better coverage at lower cost than the individual and small-group health insurance markets. The new DOL rule clarifies that small businesses can participate and that AHPs are allowed either across state lines for a single industry or across multiple industries for a single state or metropolitan area. NAR strongly supports the new rule.
However, since then, more than a dozen states have sued DOL to overturn the new rule. Other states have issued guidelines or regulations, which restrict if not undermine the rule's intent. The Coalition has been formed to work with federal and state regulators to help address state concerns while preserving the flexibility under the rule.
As part of the coalition and on an individual basis, NAR will continue to advocate for expanding our membership’s access to comprehensive and quality health insurance options at both the federal and regional levels.
For more information on NAR’s advocacy efforts, please visit on health care reform topic page.