The Senate passed a bill to create the Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act during Friday’s floor session.
Senate Bill 375 is the vehicle for this legislation, which passed overwhelmingly last year before stalling in the House Judiciary committee.
The legislation explicitly says that a Health Care Sharing Ministry is not health insurance and that they are exempt them from the state’s insurance laws.
A sharing ministry serves as a facilitator among ministry members, who agree to assist other members with medical expenses through contributions. A ministry by definition limits its membership to those who share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs.
The ministry provides amounts that participants may contribute with no assumption of risk or promise to pay among the participants and no assumption of risk or promise to pay by the ministry. Members are responsible for paying their own bills.
Under current law, a public higher education institution that requires health insurance must recognize a student’s membership in a sharing ministry in lieu of insurance.
Currently, 31 states already have health care sharing ministries in code and recognize that they are not health insurance. The West Virginia insurance commissioner already recognizes that these are not insurance companies and this bill simply codifies that.
The bill now heads to the House of Delegates for consideration.
The Senate is adjourned until Monday, Feb. 19, at 11 a.m.
