Regulation of Health Care Sharing Ministries

Problems with the availability and affordability of traditional health insurance have led to a search for alternatives. One increasingly popular option is a health care sharing ministry (HCSM), a "not-for-profit religious organization acting as a clearinghouse for those who have medical expense...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of insurance regulation 2010-01, Vol.29, p.189
Main Authors: Eastman, Kevin, Ruhland, Joseph S, Eastman, Alan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administrative expenses
Federal regulation
Gifts
Health care policy
Health insurance
Households
Insurance companies
Insurance policies
Insurance premiums
Medical regulation
Nonprofit organizations
Nuclear family
Religious organizations
Risk assessment
Studies
Supreme Court decisions
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Summary:Problems with the availability and affordability of traditional health insurance have led to a search for alternatives. One increasingly popular option is a health care sharing ministry (HCSM), a "not-for-profit religious organization acting as a clearinghouse for those who have medical expenses and those who desire to share the burden of those medical expenses" (Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, 2010). The regulatory issue with respect to HCSMs is whether they should be regulated as insurance companies. While some states have specifically exempted HCSMs from their insurance code, others either subject them to regulation or predicate exemption on the fulfillment of certain disclosure requirements. The purposes of this article are to: 1) examine the arguments for and against regulation of HCSMs; 2) summarize current legislation and court rulings relevant to this issue; and 3) analyze this information and make recommendations regarding the regulatory treatment of HCSMs. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0736-248X