Bill would make health care sharing ministries tax deductible

By Tate Miller
The Center Square

The president of a health sharing ministry says he supports a bill that would make health share systems tax deductible, additionally stating that health sharing brings transparency and accountability to healthcare.

President and co-founder of Solidarity HealthShare Chris Faddis told The Center Square that “it is time” for the Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act in order to allow “healthcare sharing members to access tax deductions offered to everyone else.”

The Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act “would allow individuals to deduct the cost [of] health sharing arrangements,” Faddis said.

Faddis said he and Solidarity HealthShare “commend” this bill introduced in February by Senator Ted Budd, a Republican from North Carolina.

Budd’s bill would “allow families to deduct the cost of a health sharing ministry membership from their annual tax bill,” according to a press release.

Budd’s office has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Chris Faddis told The Center Square that ​​”there are substantive ways Congress can strengthen the health sharing sector and create even more opportunity for people to enjoy the benefits of lower health care costs,” one way being Budd’s bill.

“Further action is also needed to allow people to use their health savings accounts (HSAs) in conjunction with a health sharing program,” Faddis said.

Faddis told The Center Square: “While congress has continued to fail to fix the broken [Affordable Care Act], healthcare sharing ministries have continued to provide a real solution that is helping every day Americans without putting a drain on the US taxpayer.”

In light of an Americans for Tax Reform commentary on the transparency, market pressure, and freedom of choice health care sharing ministries (HCSM) bring, Faddis told The Center Square that HCSMs “bring transparency and accountability through putting patients in the [driver’s] seat of their healthcare, including allowing patients to choose their providers, restoring the patient – doctor relationship.”

HCSMs “also offer a solution for price transparency by discounting and negotiating bloated pricing to the true fair and just cost of care.” Faddis said.

Faddis said that “at Solidarity this effort results in a 64% reduction in cost of care while increasing quality and patient satisfaction.”

In March of this year, Republican ​​U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (PA), Greg Murphy (NC), and Chris Smith (NJ) introduced the Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act to “allow American taxpayers who are members” of HCSMs “to deduct payments made as part of their ministry membership in their taxes by classifying regular HCSM expenses as eligible medical care expenses.”

As stated in a press release on this bill, HCSMs are “tax-exempt, faith-based charities that help facilitate payments for medical care bills.”

Health sharing ministry Liberty HealthShare was not able to respond to The Center Square’s request for comment by publishing time.