The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) includes "Religious Exemptions" allowing our members exemption from the individual mandate to purchase health insurance. See 26 U.S.C. §5000A(d)(2)(A) and (B) (pasted below). Members of a qualified Health Care Sharing Ministry, such as OneShare Health, are ACA exempt if they share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and share medical expenses among themselves in accordance with those beliefs.
ACA Exemption (26 U.S.C. §5000A)d))
‘‘(2) RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS. —
‘‘(A) RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE EXEMPTIONS. —
‘‘(B) HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRY. —
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL. —Such term shall not include any individual for any month if such individual is a member of a health care sharing ministry for the month.
‘‘(ii) HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRY. —The term ‘health care sharing ministry’ means an organization— ‘
‘(I) which is described in section 501(c)(3) [26 USC §501(c)(3)] and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) 26 USC §501(a)],
‘‘(II) members of which share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and share medical expenses among members in accordance with those beliefs and without regard to the State in which a member resides or is employed,
‘‘(III) members of which retain membership even after they develop a medical condition,
‘‘(IV) which (or a predecessor of which) has been in existence at all times since December 31, 1999, and medical expenses of its members have been shared continuously and without interruption since at least December 31, 1999, and ‘‘
(V) which conducts an annual audit which is performed by an independent certified public accounting firm in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and which is made available to the public upon request.
