By Michael Bielawski
Two Democrat lawmakers want to push legislation in the House and Senate intending to put new regulations on faith-based healthcare sharing ministries, which provide generally more affordable alternative to health insurance by limiting bureaucracy to control costs.
A press release stated on Tuesday that Rep. Conor Casey, D-Montpelier, and Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, “have introduced companion bills in the Vermont House and Senate to protect consumers from misleading and inadequate coverage by Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs).”
One organization in the industry targeted by the two legislators is Christian Healthcare Ministries, which bills itself as ‘A faith-based alternative to health insurance.’ The site says that “CHM is a faith-based alternative to health insurance. It’s a membership-based, nonprofit ministry. As part of a biblical covenant, CHM members step in and help fellow brothers and sisters in Christ pay eligible medical bills according to the CHM Guidelines.”
Another ministry, Medi-Share, operates on this community-based model:
Monthly Share Amounts – Members contribute a set monthly share that goes directly to help other members with eligible medical needs. This sharing model allows participants to live out their faith by meeting real needs within the community.
Annual Household Portion (AHP) – Before medical expenses are eligible for sharing, members must meet their AHP—a predetermined amount chosen that the member is responsible for paying. Once the AHP is met, the community steps in to share in eligible medical costs.
Provider Network – Medi-Share offers access to an extensive network of over one million health care providers.
These bills would require HCSMs to register annually with the Department of Financial Regulation. They must “submit financial and membership reports, and disclose their limited coverage.”
At the Statehouse on Tuesday, Casey told VDC that there is H. 102 in the House, and White may work on the companion bill in the Senate. He said at that point it was undecided which route they will ultimately pursue.
The House bill states it would “require a person who is not authorized to offer health insurance in Vermont and who offers or intends to offer a health care sharing plan or arrangement to facilitate payment or reimbursement of health care costs or services for Vermont residents to report certain information annually to the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and to certify the accuracy of the information.”
The legislature’s journal indicates that the bill hasn’t been taken up yet in the House Committee on Health Care. The topic was not on the House or Senate Committee’s agenda last week, nor is it on this week’s agenda. Nonetheless, Casey is adamant that action be taken.
“These unregulated entities market themselves as alternatives to health insurance, often cloaked in religious language to avoid scrutiny,” he says. “Time and again, people are left holding the bag when they need care the most – paying into these plans only to find out there’s no guarantee of coverage.”
White says, “Vermonters deserve to know what they’re buying when it comes to their health care. Too many of these plans have left people vulnerable in their most difficult moments.”
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA, co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, says the ministries “pray on citizens,” and Fish Stark, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association and the Center for Freethought Equality, says they are “defrauding [clients] when they need it most”.
The Congressional Freethought Caucus is a membership organization in the United States House of Representatives established to promote policy solutions based on reason and science, and to defend the secular character of government.
More affordible
Meanwhile, some of their Statehouse colleagues sound the alarm that mainstream insurance premiums are unacceptibly high. VDC wrote about it in December.
“Vermonters will pay for premiums an average of $1,157 per month, another new national high mark,” the report states. “The next highest is Alaska at $1,088 and then New York at $1,038. For 2024, Vermont was second in the nation for highest premiums, at $908 per month versus $948 for Alaska.”
Not all customers are unhappy with their experience using these ministries. Dan Treat of South Burlington wrote for True North Reports in 2019 about his experience.
“I joined one of these organizations, Christian Healthcare Ministries, nine years ago. I was between jobs at that time and did not have access to low-cost health insurance. Since then, they have saved me thousands of dollars in medical expenses.”
Proponents argue that they are a much more affordable alternative to the big companies and that they offer more freedom to choose different providers. CHMinistryPlans.com says they offer ‘basic coverage’ at $255 per month, about a quarter that of a similar plan from MVP Healthcare or Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Vermont’s two big health insurance offerings. The trade-off is high deductibles; the “minimum amount to qualify per incident” is $1,250.
According to LibertyHealthShare.org, “Members make monthly contributions, which are called ‘monthly shares,’ that vary based on the health sharing program they choose. These contributions are used to share in the eligible medical expenses of others in the faith-based group. A non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, such as Liberty HealthShare, facilitates this voluntary sharing among members.”
Contact your lawmakers
See all bills assigned to this committee here. Constituents may contact committee members (click link on name for bio, party affiliation, etc.) with comments, questions, and information at the following email addresses:
House Healthcare
Rep. Alyssa Black, Chair, ablack@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Francis McFaun, Vice Chair, fmcfaun@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Daisy Berbeco, Ranking Member, dberbeco@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Brian Cina, bcina@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Mari Cordes, Clerk, mcordes@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Wendy Critchlow, wcritchlow@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Allen “Penny” Demar, ademar@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Leslie Goldman, lgoldman@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Lori Houghton, LHoughton@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Woodman Page, wpage@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Debra Powers, dpowers@leg.state.vt.us
All committee transcripts are available at http://www.goldendomevt.com. The Committee meeting video is available at the committee’s YouTube channel. The committee meets in the morning in Room 42.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle