Tax Privileges for Health Care Sharing Ministries Act

Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act (H.R. 2062)

Introduced by Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Greg Murphy (R-NC) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) 

This bill would promote Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs) by establishing a tax deduction for members to deduct payments made as part of their ministry membership. Amounts paid for membership in a health care sharing ministry, including amounts paid for the sharing of medical expenses and administrative fees, would be classified as an eligible, tax-deductible medical care expense.

• Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs) are tax-exempt, faith-based organizations which require members – who must share a common set of religious ethical beliefs – to submit monthly payments to cover the qualified expenses of other members.
• Since HCSMs claim to be exempt from the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act, they provide only limited benefits for their members and do not guarantee payment for medical claims. Recent data shows Health Shares deem only half of members’ health expenses eligible for reimbursement.
• HCSMS also often exclude coverage altogether for services such as abortions, contraception, mental health, substance use disorders, chronic conditions, certain preexisting conditions, and even maternity care.
• With more for-profit administrators taking advantage of loopholes to market Health Shares to broader audiences through deceptive practices, roughly 1.7 million Americans have now enrolled in an HCSM and are at serious risk of being denied necessary treatments and services.
• HCSMs also discriminate against members on the basis of religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other protected classes.
• This bill would provide a taxpayer-funded subsidy for entities that argue themselves that they are not health insurance and that they should be exempt from nondiscrimination laws and consumer protections.