2023-27510: Definition of “Employer”-Association Health Plans

Summary

This document proposes to rescind the Department of Labor's (Department or DOL) 2018 rule entitled "Definition of Employer-- Association Health Plans" (2018 AHP Rule). The 2018 AHP Rule establishes an alternative set of criteria from those set forth in the Department's pre-rule guidance for determining when a group or association of employers is acting "indirectly in the interest of an employer" under section 3(5) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for purposes of establishing an association health plan (AHP) as a multiple employer group health plan. The 2018 AHP Rule's alternative criteria were set aside in large part by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in New York v. United States Department of Labor. The district court found the bona fide association and working owner provisions in the rule to be an unreasonable interpretation of ERISA, inconsistent with congressional intent that ERISA applies to employee benefits arising out of employment relationships. The Department, after further review of the relevant statutory language, judicial decisions, and pre-rule guidance, and further consideration of ERISA's statutory purposes and related policy goals, now proposes to rescind in full the 2018 AHP Rule in order to resolve and mitigate any uncertainty regarding the status of the standards that were set under the 2018 AHP Rule, allow for a reexamination of the criteria for a group or association of employers to be able to sponsor an AHP, and ensure that guidance being provided to the regulated community is in alignment with ERISA's text, purposes, and policies.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 1 part of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 29 CFR 2510 Definition of Terms Used in Subchapters C, D, E, F, G, and L of This Chapter