Rising healthcare costs can be a major barrier to small and mid-sized landscape companies trying to offer more benefits to their employees. This is why NALP is currently exploring the possibility of creating a national association healthcare plan for member companies.
“We’ve been trying to figure out how to get a healthcare plan in place for many years, and we think it would add tremendous value,” says Andrew Bray, NALP senior vice president of government relations and membership. “While the cost for healthcare continues to rise rapidly, by banding together, we have an opportunity to lower the cost for our members.”
With this increased buying power, risk can be spread across a broader group, helping stabilize claims experience and improve plan options that may not be available to employers individually.
At this stage, NALP is requesting all interested companies to submit basic employee and dependent census information during the information gathering period. No employee medical history is required at this point.
Bray notes that no company is too small to participate in the plan. He also says even if a company is currently satisfied with their current healthcare coverage, they should still complete the employee census as it gives them the opportunity to see a reduced rate than what they are currently paying.
“They’re going to have the opportunity to pick their plan,” Bray says. “We’re not going to just get one plan. I think it behooves everybody to fill out the census and take it seriously, as they want to explore hopefully very nice cost savings.”
How to Participate
If you wish to be considered for this national healthcare plan, submit your census information, which includes employees’ first and last name, dependents’ and spouses’ first and last name, date of birth, gender and home ZIP code.
You can either email a recent employee census that you’ve created for your current healthcare plan or download the form available on this page.
Once you’ve completed the form, please email it to [email protected] no later than Aug. 15, 2026.
Please note, submitting this data does not commit your business to participating, purchasing coverage or enrolling employees.
Without enough company participation, NALP will not be able to proceed with determining pricing, plan, carrier or effective date.
Once the survey closes on Aug. 15, the broker will begin shopping for healthcare plans.
The healthcare plans offered would likely include copay plan options and high-deductible health plan options. Final plan designs would depend on underwriting, carrier approval, location, member participation, and other program requirements.
If enough participation allows the insurance broker to determine whether a viable program can be developed for member companies, it is anticipated that this program would be available in January 2027. However, the first necessary step is collecting member census information.
If you have additional questions, please email [email protected] or contact Jason Forge at Cowell James Forge Insurance Group at 816-471-4245.
