AHA urges IRS to reconsider health care sharing ministries proposal

The AHA today urged the Internal Revenue Services to remove the treatment of health care sharing ministries from a proposed rule issued by the agency in June.

The IRS is proposing through this rule to define payments toward health care ministry memberships as medical insurance, for the purpose of making such payments tax deductible under Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code.

In a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, AHA expressed concern with this policy as “health care sharing ministries are not medical insurance.

These plans operate outside of state and federal insurance regulations and do not have to guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions or any other services — a fact that regularly confuses consumers and leaves them vulnerable to significant medical bills.”