DOL issues proposed rule to expand the flexibility for group health plans

On January 5, 2018, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that would broaden the criteria under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for determining when employers may join together an employer group or association that is treated as the “employer” sponsor of a single multiple-employer group health plan. The proposed rule would modify the definition of “employer,” in part, by creating a more flexible “commonality of interest” test for the employer members than DOL had adopted in previous interpretive rulings. DOL anticipates that the proposed rule would result in more flexible and affordable health coverage options for small businesses.