Vermont Bill Advances To Increase Oversight Of Health Care Sharing Ministries
The state of Vermont is one step closer to passing a law that would require healthcare sharing ministries to submit an annual report to the state about its participants and finances.
House Bill (HB) 585 includes a section entitled, “Annual Reporting on Health Care Sharing Plans and Arrangements.” It was originally proposed in 2025 as HB 102 by Rep. Conor Casey.
HB 585 would require health care sharing ministries to report items annually, such as their total number of participants, contracts with providers, total fees collected in the preceding year, and total requests for reimbursement in the previous year. The report would be made to the state Department of Financial Regulation.
It passed the Vermont House of Representatives in March and has been referred to the Senate finance committee.
“These unregulated entities market themselves as alternatives to health insurance, often cloaked in religious language to avoid scrutiny,” Casey said in a press release about his original bill in 2025.
“Time and again, people are left holding the bag when they need care the most – paying into these plans only to find out there’s no guarantee of coverage. This bill is about transparency and consumer protection,” he said.
The original bill was also supported by the American Humanist Association, which wrote:
“These organizations are not subject to the same strict regulations and oversight as traditional health insurance plans, and they do not guarantee payment. H.102 will address this gap, give Vermont consumers more transparency, and ensure they have the necessary information before joining a cost-sharing program. Humanists urge the state to pass this legislation without delay to ensure Vermonters have the necessary information to make informed decisions about their and their families’ health.”
In Vermont, about 442 members — or 188 households — participate in health care sharing ministries, according to the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries.
Health care sharing ministries have come under scrutiny in recent years. In 2023, ProPublican published a report on Liberty HealthShare, claiming it left member claims unpaid. However, the ministry told MinistryWatch the reporting was based on stories from “the distant past” and “not in any way relevant today.” Since 2014, the ministry claims it has facilitated the sharing of nearly $5 billion in eligible, repriced medical expenses for its members.
“We believe that the articles were highly inaccurate and biased regarding Liberty HealthShare,” Liberty spokesperson Keith Price said, adding that he can confirm “that none of the people highlighted in the stories currently have any role with Liberty HealthShare. And, we are no longer doing business with any of the vendors mentioned in those articles.”
Randy Hultgren is Executive Director of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries and a former U.S. Representative from Illinois, disagrees with Vermont’s plan to subject health care sharing ministries to state oversight.
In an op-ed in the Christian Post, Hultgren argued that the ministries are not insurance companies with “no premiums, no guaranteed benefits, and no actuarial risk pools.”
He pointed out that the Affordable Care Act recognizes the distinction between insurance and health care sharing ministries.
According to the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, there are 107 health care sharing ministries certified by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Together, they represent over 692,000 participating Americans.
Hultgren is also concerned that the reporting requirements would require the health care sharing ministries to “hand over to state regulators a sweeping array of proprietary and sensitive information.”
In contrast to Vermont, other states are considering legislation that would benefit members of health care sharing ministries.
In Oklahoma, HB 2942 by Rep. Derrick Hildebrant and Sen. Julie McIntosh would allow members of health care sharing ministries to deduct the contributions they make on their state income tax returns starting in tax year 2027. The bill hasn’t made much progress in the legislative cycle yet.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 368 that would have provided a tax deduction for the qualified health sharing expenses paid in the taxable year. The Kansas House and Senate both voted to override the governor’s veto of the bill.
Ohio Rep. Angie King introduced HB 21 to clarify that health care sharing ministries are not insurance, that they satisfy college or university insurance coverage requirements, and allow a tax deduction for membership dues paid into the ministry.
The bill has passed the house and had a hearing in the Ohio Senate Financial Institutions committee in February.
The Florida Legislature was considering SB 834 by state Sen. Clay Yarborough. It would allow health care sharing ministries to be marketed through a licensed insurance agent. The bill passed the Florida Senate but died in the Florida House of Representatives.
The MinistryWatch 1000 Database has eight health care sharing ministries is their own category. Since they are not allowed to be members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, we give them credit for an equivalent membership if they are part of the Health Care Sharing Accreditation Board.
This article was originally published by The Roys Report.
Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate with honors from Baylor University and an undergraduate degree in government from Angelo State University. She has three young adult children who were home schooled and is happily married to her husband of 28 years.