Rep. Chabot Responds to Proposed Rule Expanding Access to Health Insurance

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 -- Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Small Business Committee, issued the following statement after the Department of Labor published a proposed rule expanding the definition of "employer" to allow more small business employees and sole proprietors to access health insurance through small business health plans:

"While the tax reform package Congress passed and the President signed into law in December effectively ended the burdensome individual mandate, small businesses are still subject to Obamacare's employer mandate and have few options to provide affordable health care choices to their employees and families.

"DOL's proposed rule would allow small employers and sole proprietors to join together and form Small Business Health Plans to provide their workers more affordable and flexible health care options."

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Chairman Chabot also cosponsored H.R. 1101 (https://smallbusiness.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399806), the Small Business Health Fairness Act, which passed the House last year.

The Department of Labor is still inviting stakeholders to submit public comments on the rule. For more information, the Committee has put together a Regulatory Watch (https://smallbusiness.house.gov/resources/reg-watch.htm) page to track regulatory proposals that have been published in the Federal Register and are open for public comment.