‘The real issue is whether there is a health care option that is truly free from government control, unlike health insurance,’ says AHCSM Executive Director Katy Talento
WASHINGTON — The “Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act,” was recently introduced in the Ohio legislature — HB 474 — sponsored by Ohio Rep. Angela King and Rep. Adam Matthews.
This law will ensure that Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs) are regulated as the religious charities they are, rather than as insurance companies. Health Care Sharing Ministries are faith-based, nonprofit organizations that facilitate the sharing of medical expenses among their members.
“This act recognizes the right to the free exercise of religion for Ohioans who choose to practice their religious convictions in healthcare,” says Katy Talento, executive director of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries. “This bill will be a big step toward medical and religious liberty.”
The Affordable Care Act recognized the benefits of these ministries and exempted members of HCSMs from the law’s individual mandate to purchase government-approved insurance plans.
At least 1.7 million people use and rely on sharing plans in the United States, including more than 25,000 Ohioans. Additionally, 33 other states have already passed legislation to exempt Health Care Sharing Ministries from their own state insurance codes, including West Virginia, Tennessee and Utah just in the last month.
Based on ALEC model legislation, the legislation does the following:
–Ensures that state law recognizes that HCSMs are not insurance and are rightfully regulated as charities under the authority of the Attorney General rather than the Department of Insurance.
–Defines such HCSMs as those which:
- Are organized around and whose members share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs.
- Provide the public with an annual audit by an independent certified public accounting firm.
- Include a written disclaimer on materials that the organization is not an insurance company.
–Allows an income tax deduction for contributions made to an HCSM or to other members through an HCSM.
–Specifies that HCSM members who are students at a state institution of higher education are exempt from such institution’s health insurance requirement.
“Members of these ministries save money, avoid red tape, and have the freedom to try alternative treatments not typically covered by health insurance,” Talento says. “Just as important to ministry members, they are exercising their freedom of conscience, and are not forced to subsidize objectionable practices such as abortion or gender-bending drugs and treatments.”
“The real issue is whether there is a health care option that is truly free from government control, unlike health insurance. People of faith are looking for a refuge that is consistent with their religious beliefs and that recognizes their God-given authority over their own medical decisions.”
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries is a 501(c)(6) trade organization representing the common interests of Health Care Sharing Ministry organizations which are facilitating the sharing of health care needs (financial, emotional, and spiritual) by individuals and families, and their participants. The Alliance engages with federal and state regulators, members of the media, and the Christian community to provide accurate and timely information on health care sharing.
To learn more about the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, visit www.ahcsm.org or follow the ministry on Facebook or Twitter.
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To interview a representative from The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105.
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To interview a representative from The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105.
