Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom To Share Act

Summary

Participants of health care sharing ministries financially assist fellow participants with large medical expenses with a result usually provided by health insurance.  Due to their voluntary and ministerial nature, these ministries should be recognized in the insurance code as ministries and not as health insurance companies. This model policy is designed so that the state insurance code specifically recognizes HCSMs as ministries and not insurance, and not subject to the additional requirements of the state insurance code.

Model Legislation

Section 1.  Short Title.  This Act shall be known as the “Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act.”

Section 2.  Exemption of Health Care Sharing Ministries from the Insurance Code.

1. A health care sharing ministry shall not be considered to be engaging in the business of insurance for purposes of this {insert code, title, chapter, or appropriate description that describes the state’s regulation of health insurance statutes}.

Section 3.  Definitions.  “Health care sharing ministry” means a non-profit organization that is tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code which:

1. Limits its participants to those members who share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs;
2. Acts as a facilitator among participants who have financial or medical needs to assist those with financial or medical needs in accordance with criteria established by the health care sharing ministry;
3. Provides for the financial or medical needs of a participant through contributions from other participants.
4. Provides amounts that participants may contribute with no assumption of risk or promise to pay among the participants and no assumption of risk or promise to pay by the health care sharing ministry to the participants;
5. Provides to the participants monthly the total dollar amount of qualified needs actually shared in the previous month in accordance with criteria established by the health care sharing ministry; and
6. Conducts an annual audit which is performed by an independent certified public accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and which is made available to the public by providing a copy upon request, or by posting on the organization’s website.
7. Provides a written disclaimer on or accompanying all applications and guideline materials distributed by or on behalf of the organization that reads, in substance: “Notice: The organization facilitating the sharing of medical expenses is not an insurance company, and neither its guidelines nor plan of operation is an insurance policy. Whether anyone chooses to assist you with your medical bills will be totally voluntary because no other participant will be compelled by law to contribute toward your medical bills. As such, participation in the organization or a subscription to any of its documents should never be considered to be insurance.  Regardless of whether you receive any payments for medical expenses or whether this organization continues to operate, you are always personally responsible for the payment of your own medical bills.”

Section 4. {Severability Clause}

Section 5. {Repealer Clause}

Section 6. {Effective Date}

Original model policy passed by the ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force on May 17, 2008.

Amendments passed by the ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force on April 29, 2011.

Further amendments were passed by the ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force on July 20, 2017.