Tax policy advocates Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) have come out in support of recent Senate legislation aimed at ensuring the financial viability of Health Sharing Ministries (HSMs) by establishing tax parity with traditional insurance.
The backing follows the introduction of the Health Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act by Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) earlier this year. The bill, which ATR explicitly backs, would allow families to deduct the cost of a health sharing ministry membership from their annual tax bill.
Senator Budd has championed the necessity of expanding affordable choices for consumers. “At a time when health insurance premiums and inflation are making it difficult for families to afford health care coverage, action is needed to offer more options,” Senator Budd said in a press release.
He added that the bill “would allow people to offset the cost of a health care sharing ministry membership by deducting it from their taxes. Faith-based nonprofits like health care sharing ministries do great work helping Americans afford health care, and my bill makes it easier for more people to pursue this option”.
Such ministries are faith-based non-profit organizations that allow members to opt out of traditional insurance and, instead, pool their resources with like-minded individuals to cover health expenses.
Roughly 1.7 million Americans are now involved in health-sharing arrangements,” says the ATR, which argues that this option is vital as “conversations about the rising cost of healthcare ramp up, there is increasing demand for more cost-effective options, freedom of choice in care, and cost transparency”.
According to Isabelle Morales, in an op-ed piece on the ATR website, HSMs introduce critical market reforms: “Health sharing brings transparency and market pressure to the healthcare market”.
Noting that“medical billing is completely opaque and involves a labyrinth of intermediaries,” Morales says the health sharing model allows members to “see exactly what they’re paying for and how much of their contribution goes towards actual medical needs”. She adds that ministries consistently deliver “60% to 70% in savings” and that “Health sharing ministries bring much-needed freedom of choice to the healthcare market”.
These organizations require legislative protection because “lawmakers and bureaucrats attempting to maintain the status quo of one-size-fits-all insurance systems have continuously waged attacks on these religious organizations,” according to Morales.
She concludes that reforms, including the one proposed by Senator Budd, are essential to ensure HSMs “remain a viable choice for those looking to escape the current insurance paradigm, lower their costs, have autonomy over their care, and align their spending with their moral convictions”.