Katy Talento: ‘The Alliance applauds Rep. Mike Kelly for introducing this important legislation that will extend tax benefits now unfairly denied to members of HCSMs’ 

 WASHINGTON A long overdue correction to the federal tax code governing health care has been introduced this week by Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

The Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act, H.R. 8776, will permit members of HCSMs to deduct payments made as part of their HCSM membership on their taxes by classifying regular HCSM expenses as eligible medical care expenses.

 “The Alliance applauds Rep. Mike Kelly for introducing this important legislation that will extend tax benefits now unfairly denied to members of HCSMs,” says Katy Talento, executive director of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries.

 “The bill eliminates the unfairness of extending tax benefits to people with health insurance for their payments but not to members of HCSMs for membership expenses. All too often, especially in recent years, people who come up with innovative faith-based solutions are treated as second-class citizens.

 “This legislation also makes it clear that HCSMs are not health insurance, which is a feature, not a bug of Health Care Sharing Ministries.”

An estimated 1.3 million Americans are members of Health Care Sharing Ministries and facilitate the sharing of more than $1 billion in medical expenses each year. Yet, under current law, they are not entitled to important tax benefits, including deducting HCSM membership expenses as medical expenses on their tax returns.

The proposed change will enable HCSM members to include HCSM expenditures as part of their overall medical expenses and to deduct those costs if they exceed the annual adjusted gross income (AGI) threshold of 7.5%.

This provision is similar to what the Department of the Treasury proposed via rulemaking in 2020, but more clearly defines HCSM expenditures, and makes clear that HCSMs are not health insurance.

Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs) are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, faith-based charities that facilitate the sharing of medical expenses among members as an exercise of their religious beliefs. They are communities of faith that people join, on a voluntary basis, to facilitate payments for health care bills. Health Care Sharing Ministries are defined explicitly in 26 U.S.C. 5000A under the Affordable Care Act.

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.

To interview a representative from The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105.

 

 

###  To interview a representative from The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105.