Bill Details
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This bill would change the tax code so that people who join a health care sharing ministry can count their membership costs as a medical expense. It would also make clear that these ministries are not to be treated as health insurance or as a health plan under federal tax rules. The change would apply to tax years starting after December 31, 2025.
- Membership costs for a health care sharing ministry would count as a medical expense for tax purposes.
- The bill says this includes both the sharing of medical bills and the ministry’s administrative fees.
- For tax law purposes, these ministries would not be treated as insurance or as a health plan.
- The new rules would start with tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.
Official Summaries
This bill provides that amounts paid for membership in a health care sharing ministry, including amounts paid for the sharing of medical expenses and administrative fees, are a tax-deductible medical expense. (Health care sharing ministries are faith-based organizations with members who share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and who contribute regular payments to cover the medical expenses of other members.)
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 653 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 653
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat membership in a
health care sharing ministry as a medical expense, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 20, 2025
Mr. Budd introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat membership in a
health care sharing ministry as a medical expense, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TREATMENT OF HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRIES AS A MEDICAL
EXPENSE AND NOT AS INSURANCE.
(a) Treatment as a Medical Expense.--Section 213(d)(1) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``or'' at the end
of subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph
(D) and inserting ``, or'', and by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(E) for membership in a health care sharing
ministry (as defined in section 5000A(d)(2)(B)(ii)
without regard to subclause (IV) thereof), including--
``(i) the sharing of medical expenses with
respect to such ministry, and
``(ii) the payment of administrative fees
of such ministry.''.
(b) Health Care Sharing Ministry Not Treated as a Health Plan or
Insurance.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 79 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by inserting after section 7702B the following
new section:
``SEC. 7702C. TREATMENT OF HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRIES.
``For purposes of this title, a health care sharing ministry (as
defined in section 5000A(d)(2)(B)(ii) without regard to subclause (IV)
thereof) shall not be treated as a health plan or as insurance.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
79 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 7702B the following new item:
``Sec. 7702C. Treatment of health care sharing ministries.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
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