Bill Text: MS SB2775 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Insurance; include prepaid plans for low-income individuals sponsored by not-for-profit organizations as health care ministry.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-05 - Died In Committee [SB2775 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2024-SB2775-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Insurance
By: Senator(s) Parker
Senate Bill 2775
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A PLAN THAT PROVIDES HEALTH CARE SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS ON A PREPAID BASIS SHALL NOT BE DEEMED TO BE HEALTH INSURANCE BUT INSTEAD SHALL BE CONSIDERED A HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRY; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH PLAN SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED TO BE ENGAGING IN THE BUSINESS OF INSURANCE FOR PURPOSES OF THIS TITLE 83; TO SET CERTAIN PLAN AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS; TO PROVIDE THAT OPERATIONS CONSISTENT WITH THE STANDARDS OF THIS ACT SHALL CREATE A PRESUMPTION THAT THE OPERATING ENTITY SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 83-77-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) A plan that provides health-care services to low-income individuals on a prepaid basis shall not be deemed to be health insurance but instead shall be considered a health care sharing ministry in accordance with Section 83-77-1. Such plan shall not be considered to be engaging in the business of insurance for purposes of this Title 83, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(2) Such plan must meet the following:
(a) Eligibility in the plan is limited to persons employed in businesses employing two hundred (200) eligible persons or fewer and persons engaged in domestic service in private households and dependents of those persons, where the persons earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level and are not covered under any other group insurance arrangement;
(b) The plan is operated on a not-for-profit basis under the sponsorship of a not-for-profit organization; and
(c) Covered primary care services are provided to enrollees either by providers on staff of the sponsoring organization or by volunteers recruited from a local medical society who have, in both instances, agreed to provide their services for free or for nominal reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or expendable supplies directly related to,
and incurred, as a result of, the service provided to the employee.
(3) Coverage for a plan under this section shall constitute minimum essential health coverage for purposes of compliance with 26 U.S.C. 500A. Operations consistent with the standards of this section shall create a presumption that the operating entity satisfies the requirements of 26 U.S.C. 500A(d)(2)(B)(ii).
SECTION 2. Section 83-77-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
83-77-1. (1) This chapter shall be known as the "Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act."
(2) A health care sharing ministry shall not be considered to be engaging in the business of insurance for purposes of this Title 83, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(3) "Health care sharing ministry" means a faith-based, nonprofit organization that is tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code which:
(a) Limits its participants to those who are of a similar faith;
(b) Acts as a facilitator among participants who have financial or medical needs and matches those participants with other participants with the present ability to assist those with financial or medical needs in accordance with criteria established by the health care sharing ministry;
(c) Provides for the financial or medical needs of a participant through contributions from one (1) participant to another;
(d) Provides amounts that participants may contribute with no assumption of risk or promise to pay among the participants and no assumption of risk or promise to pay by the health care sharing ministry to the participants;
(e) Provides a written monthly statement to all participants that lists the total dollar amount of qualified needs submitted to the health care sharing ministry, as well as the amount actually published or assigned to participants for their contribution; and
(f) Provides a written disclaimer on or accompanying all applications and guideline materials distributed by or on behalf of the organization that reads, in substance: "Notice: The organization facilitating the sharing of medical expenses is not an insurance company, and neither its guidelines nor plan of operation is an insurance policy. Whether anyone chooses to assist you with your medical bills will be totally voluntary because no other participant will be compelled by law to contribute toward your medical bills. As such, participation in the organization or a subscription to any of its documents should never be considered to be insurance. Regardless of whether you receive any payment of medical expenses or whether this organization continues to operate, you are always personally responsible for the payment of your own medical bills."
(4) A plan under the provisions of Section 1 of this act may also be considered a health care sharing ministry in accordance with this section.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.
