In preliminary provisions, providing for health care sharing ministries.
Summary
HB2289 would amend Pennsylvania’s Insurance Company Law of 1921 to add a new section addressing health care sharing ministries (HCSMs). The bill declares that an HCSM, and its operations, are not to be treated as an insurance company, health maintenance organization, or health benefit plan in Pennsylvania, and therefore would not be regulated by the Insurance Commissioner under the state’s insurance laws. It also states that operating an HCSM is not the transaction of insurance business and is not an unfair or deceptive trade practice under Pennsylvania law.
The bill defines a health care sharing ministry as a faith-based nonprofit organization whose members share similar ethical or religious beliefs and voluntarily contribute funds to help pay one another’s medical expenses. The definition includes requirements such as allowing members to remain in the ministry even after developing a medical condition, providing monthly statements of sharing activity, undergoing an annual independent audit, and including a prominent disclaimer explaining that the program is not insurance and that members remain personally responsible for their medical bills. The act would take effect 60 days after enactment.
Impact
HB2289 would create a statutory exemption for health care sharing ministries from Pennsylvania insurance regulation, removing them from the jurisdiction of the Department of Insurance and shielding them from being treated as insurance products or unfair trade practices under the Insurance Company Law. This would affect HCSMs, their members, and state regulators by clarifying that these ministries operate outside the state’s insurance framework, while also requiring specific disclosures and audit practices for organizations that fit the bill’s definition.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no direct evidence of debate or partisan sentiment in the provided materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears supportive of faith-based health care sharing arrangements by giving them legal recognition and regulatory exclusion, while also adding consumer-facing disclosures intended to clarify that the programs are not insurance. The overall tone is permissive and deregulatory, but with notice requirements that suggest an effort to prevent misunderstanding by participants.
Contention
The main point of contention likely concerns whether health care sharing ministries should be exempt from insurance regulation despite performing a function similar to health coverage. Supporters would likely emphasize religious liberty, nonprofit status, and voluntary sharing among members, while critics may argue that consumers could mistake these arrangements for insurance and be left exposed to unpaid medical bills. The required disclaimer and audit provisions appear designed to address those concerns, but the bill still leaves HCSMs outside the protections and oversight that apply to insurers and health benefit plans.
The acceptance of health care sharing ministries by an institution of higher education and health care sharing ministries' exemptions from insurance laws and regulations.
AN ACT to create and enact a new section to chapter 15-10 and a new chapter to title 50 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the acceptance of health care sharing ministries by an institution of higher education and health care sharing ministries' exemptions from insurance laws and regulations.
Enacting the health care sharing ministries tax deduction act to provide a subtraction modification for qualified health care sharing expenses paid by a qualified individual and certain qualified health care shares received by a qualified individual.