Healthcare-sharing ministries are a form of health coverage where its members, who usually share a religious belief, make monthly payments to cover the expenses of other members. They are not health insurance plans.
The bill was sent to the governor’s office June 1, according to the Colorado General Assembly’s website. The bill passed the House and Senate in May. If enacted, healthcare-sharing ministries would be required to report how much money members pay versus how much in medical bills the organizations cover, according to Colorado Politics.
“We are not sure how many people are in these plans, we don’t know how many operators there are in the state,” bill sponsor Sen. Chris Hansen said in May, according to Colorado Politics. “That is precisely what we’re trying to solve, to make sure we have a good understanding of the size and scope of these types of operations.”
Opponents of the bill said healthcare-sharing ministries are a less-expensive way to address medical expenses and the state’s insurance division is not the proper entity to oversee these organizations, according to Colorado Politics.
“The insurance commissioner is looking for a way into this thing that’s not insurance,” opponent Sen. Rob Woodward said, according to the report.
