Health Care Sharing Ministries – Not Real Insurance

Introduction Health Sharing Ministries

• Health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) are organizations in which members who adhere to similar beliefs share each other’s health care costs. 
• george town.edu/misleading-marketing-of-non-aca-health-plans
• Many of them have been BANNED from doing biz in CA ^{Insurance.CA.Gov}!!!
• The monthly cost for a patient or family in a ministry plan is usually cheap relative to a monthly insurance premium. However, neither the Affordable Care Act nor the Department of Insurance (CDI) consider ministries to be practicing insurance, so they’re not regulated in the same way as traditional health plans.  ^{Introduction and Explanation from Texas Medical Assoc}.
• New regulation would define healthcare sharing ministries as health insurance and for the first time allow some members to take a tax deduction for their monthly contributions.  ^{Federal Registry – Definition Health Sharing Ministry}  *    However,   Incentivizing payments to HSMs will only accelerate medical debt and poor health outcomes during an international health crisis.  ^{COMMENT LETTER FROM 20 STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL} *
• HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRY CONSUMER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND FULL DISCLOSURE FORM  Covered CA.com pdf 
  • 
  • Covered CA Procedures pdf  
  • HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRY CONSUMER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND FULL DISCLOSURE FORM  
  • Health Care Sharing Ministries Policy and Procedures  Covered CA.com pdf 
  • Attorney General Bonta Issues Renewed Consumer Alert Reminding Californians of Misleading Claims Made by Many Health Care Sharing Ministry Plans  oag.ca.gov 

Must live
Christian lifestyle

• No mental health or drug abuse coverage
• Prescriptions only covered six months
• Health Sharing Ministry Plans often refuse to cover any claim putatively resulting from immoral activities such as
  • drug use, 
  • adultery,
  • fornication,
  • homosexual behavior [and] bisexual conduct or 
  • grant maternity coverage to unwed mothers. 
• Adopted children can be covered unless they’re disabled, in which case CHM reserves the right to refuse coverage. ^{LA Times} *   ^{2018 report for the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners},
• No protections by CA Department of Insurance or ACA Obamacare

• No guarantee that your bills will be paid
• The sharing is voluntary not mandatory  ^{the penny hoarder.com/medishare-reviews/}  *
  • anti cancer mom.com
• No tax deduction for meta-share premiums
• It’s not insurance so there’s no guarantee if your plans will get paid   ^{journal of accountancy.com/}  *
• Disclaimer

• AlieraCare offering by Unity Healthshare, LLC, through Aliera Healthcare, Inc., is a faith-based medical needs sharing membership. Medical needs are only shared by the members according to the membership guidelines. Our members agree to the Statement of Beliefs and voluntarily submit monthly contributions into a cost sharing account with Unity Healthshare, LLC, acting as a neutral clearing house between members. Organizations like ours have been operating successfully for years.
• We are including the following
  caveat for all to consider:
• This publication or membership is not issued by an insurance company, nor is it offered through an insurance company. This publication or the membership does not guarantee or promise that your eligible medical needs will be shared by the membership. This publication or the membership should never be considered as a substitute for an insurance policy. If the publication or the membership is unable to share in all or part of your eligible medical needs, or whether or not this membership continues to operate, you will remain financially liable for any and all unpaid medical needs.
• This is not a legally binding agreement to reimburse any member for medical needs a member may incur, but is instead, an opportunity for members to care for one another in a time of need, to present their medical needs to other members as outlined in the membership guidelines. The financial assistance members receive will come from other members’ monthly contributions that are placed in a sharing account, not from Unity Healthshare, LLC.  ^{Aliera Health} *

Learn More
Links & References

• Why many Americans are paying each other’s medical bills despite the risks  pbs.org 9/2023 
• Colorado takes aim at health care sharing plans
• At Least 1.7M Americans Use Health Sharing Arrangements, Despite Lack of Protections KFF 6/2023
• Colorado governor signs healthcare-sharing ministry reporting bill
• Look Out for Health Insurance That Seems Too Good to Be True  KFF
• Better Business Bureau: Beware of phony health insurance plans
• Los Angeles Times on people frustrated with ACA premiums going to Health Sharing Ministries.
• California Health Line on new fangled plans finding loopholes in ACA/Obama & Trump Care have big gaps in coverage!
• Health Care Sharing Ministries:  Commonwealth Fund   What Are the Risks to Consumers and Insurance Markets?
• No tax deduction for meta-share premiums  It’s not insurance so there’s no guarantee if your plans will get paid journal of accountancy.com
• Christian ministries don’t cover pre-existing conditions insure me kevin.com
• Insure Me Kevin . com Explains that it’s not right for Covered CA to require agents to show how Health Caring Ministries are not “any good,” but other sales people don’t have to.
• Review Christian health shared ministries versus affordable care act anti cancer mom.com/
• The penny hoarder review of meta-share
  • Must live Christian lifestyle
  • No mental health or drug abuse coverage
  • Prescriptions only covered six months
  • No guarantee that your bills will be paid
  • The sharing is voluntary not mandatory