An Act To Exempt Health Care Sharing Ministries from Insurance Requirements
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0950
Committee: Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: THIBODEAU
Amends: 24-A MRSA §704

Legislative Document 
No. 950 
S.P. 296 
In Senate, March 8, 2011 
An Act To Exempt Health Care Sharing Ministries from Insurance 
Requirements 
Reference to the Committee on Insurance and Financial Services suggested and ordered 
printed. 
JOSEPH G. CARLETON, JR. 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator THIBODEAU of Waldo. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  24-A MRSA §704, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 79, §1, is amended 
to read: 
1.  Health insurance. For purposes of this Title, except as provided in subsection 2 
and subsection 3, "health insurance" means insurance of human beings against bodily 
injury, disablement or death by accident or accidental means, or the expense thereof, or 
against disablement or expense resulting from sickness, and every insurance appertaining 
thereto, including provision for the mental and emotional welfare of human beings by 
defraying the costs of legal services only to the extent provided for in chapter 38. 
Sec. 2.  24-A MRSA §704, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3.  Health care sharing ministry.  As used in this Title and Title 24, the use of 
"health insurance" and related terms such as "accident and health insurance," "accident 
and sickness insurance," "carrier," "health," "health benefit plan," "health care," "health 
insurer" or "insurer" does not include, unless specifically provided otherwise in the law, a 
health care sharing ministry, and a health care sharing ministry may not be considered to 
be engaged in the business of insurance for the purposes of this Title. For the purposes of 
this section, "health care sharing ministry" means a faith-based, nonprofit organization 
that is exempt from taxation under the federal Internal Revenue Code and that:  
A.  Limits participation in the health care sharing ministry to individuals who have a 
particular religious affiliation; 
B.  Acts as a facilitator among participants who have financial and medical needs and 
matches those participants with other participants with the present ability to assist 
those with financial and medical needs in accordance with criteria established by the 
health care sharing ministry; 
C.  Provides for the financial and medical needs of a participant through monetary 
contributions from one participant to another; 
D.  Provides amounts that participants may contribute without any assumption of risk 
or promise to pay among the participants and requires 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. Participation in the organization or a subscription to any of its 
documents should never be considered to be insurance. Regardless of whether you 
receive payment for medical expenses or whether this organization continues to 
operate, you are always personally responsible for the payment of your own medical 
bills." 
SUMMARY 
This bill exempts a health care sharing ministry from the definition of "health 
insurance" under the Maine Insurance Code.