Policy and Legal

NAM Welcomes DOL Announcement on Association Health Plans

By NAM NewsroomJune 19, 2018
STudents in the Apprenticeship Lab at STIHL work on engineering projects. Virginia Beach-based STIHL Inc., one of several manufacturing facilities in the STIHL Group, is the headquarters for U.S. operations. STIHL Inc. employs over 2,100 people nationwide, with more than 1,900 in Virginia Beach, Va., in a variety of positions from manufacturing, product assembly, manufacturing engineering, sales and marketing, and finance. The Virginia Beach facility is located on approximately 150 acres with over one million square feet under roof, where the company produces a full line of high-quality, handheld outdoor power equipment including blowers, trimmers, brushcutters, and multi-task tools, as well as the number one selling brand of chainsaws worldwide. STIHL Inc. manufactures over 260 model variations of handheld outdoor power equipment for sale in the U.S. and around the world. STIHL products are sold through a network of over 9,000 servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President of Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Policy Robyn Boerstling issued the following statement on the Department of Labor’s announcement regarding association health plans (AHPs):

Lowering healthcare costs has long been a top priority for manufacturers. AHPs offer an important market-based pathway to expanded healthcare coverage and lower healthcare costs, and now is the time to make this option more widely available to smaller companies and their employees. We appreciate all of the efforts of the White House, the Labor Department and Congress in moving this forward. Manufacturers have a proud tradition of providing healthcare to employees—in fact, nearly 100 percent of our member companies do so. We will continue to be a partner along the way so that more manufacturing employees can thrive, be healthy and share in their sector’s success, said Boerstling.

In March, the NAM filed comments with the Department of Labor on AHPs, which essentially enable associations and groups to band together to provide health insurance to member employers and employees. Given the increased purchasing power and wider insurance pool that comes from banding together, AHPs often offer the potential of better care and lower costs.

 

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.