Sponsors (10)
The bill lowers after‑tax costs for some HCSM users by allowing a medical expense deduction, but the benefit mainly goes to itemizers, risks reduced consumer protections, creates regulatory ambiguity, and reduces federal revenue.
Taxpayers who pay health care sharing ministry (HCSM) membership fees and itemize can deduct those payments as medical expenses, lowering their taxable income starting in 2026.
Members of HCSMs who itemize — including some lower-income people who rely on these programs instead of insurance — will face lower after‑tax costs for sharing medical expenses, improving affordability for those users.
Consumers who choose HCSMs may be steered away from regulated insurance, reducing consumer protections and exposing members to uncovered claims or inadequate coverage.
The tax benefit primarily helps taxpayers who itemize, so many lower- and middle‑income people who take the standard deduction get little or no benefit; the resulting revenue loss could increase deficits or shift tax burdens.
Classifying HCSM payments as deductible while not treating them as insurance for other purposes could create regulatory ambiguity and complicate enforcement of consumer protections at the state level.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Treats payments to qualified health care sharing ministries (including administrative fees) as deductible medical expenses and declares those ministries not to be insurance for tax purposes.
Allows payments to qualified health care sharing ministries to be treated as deductible medical expenses for taxpayers who itemize, and explicitly states that those ministries are not health plans or insurance under the Internal Revenue Code. The change covers both the sharing of medical expenses and administrative fees and applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.
Introduced March 11, 2025 by Mike Kelly · Last progress March 11, 2025