Senate, House Committees OK Sister Health Care Sharing Ministry Bills

Feb. 12—MORGANTOWN — Senate and House committees on Monday considered and approved a bill to create the Health Care Freedom to Share Act.

The Senate version is SB 375 and is run by banks and insurance companies.

The Ministry of Health Services is not a health insurance company and the draft law exempts it from government insurance laws.

Joint Services act as intermediaries between service members who agree to help other members with medical expenses through contributions. The ministry, by definition, limits the number of members who share similar moral or religious beliefs.

The Ministry provides the amount of money that participants can provide without risk or promise to pay between participants, and the Ministry without risk or promise to pay. Members are responsible for paying their bills.

Public institutions of higher education that require health insurance must recognize their students' membership in joint ministries in lieu of insurance.

A committee lawyer told senators that 31 states already have laws related to health care sharing and have acknowledged that it is not health insurance. The West Virginia Insurance Commissioner has recognized that they are not insurance companies, and the law does just that.

Members approved the draft law by voting. The money is scheduled to be delivered to the Treasury Department after that, but committee Chairman Mike Azinger, R-Wood, said he would talk to the Treasury Department about delaying the transfer so they can discuss the matter immediately, as they finally did. year. .

The bill passed the Senate last year by a vote of 27-1, but failed in the Judiciary Committee. Senators learned last year from the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries that more than 3,000 West Virginians were participating in sharing ministries at the time.

The House Judiciary took up the House version, HB 4809, and debated it for just one minute. After a brief explanation, the representatives unanimously agreed. The first stop for the bill is the Banking and Insurance Committee of the House of Representatives, and after approval by the second committee, the bill will be put forward for full discussion.

Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com

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