Enrollment in religious, cost-share ministries is on the rise. The groups, which are typically backed by small Mennonite churches, pool their money to cover medical costs for members.
Joann Volk, a research professor who studies the health care insurance market at Georgetown University, said the alternative plans tend to be popular among patients seeking a more affordable option than health insurance.
With Floridians facing higher premiums and dropped coverage for Obamacare plans, due to uncertainty around the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Volk said cost-sharing plans could become more popular — but with consequences.
Research from the Commonwealth Fund shows religious, cost-sharing plans have fewer consumer protections because they are largely unregulated and do not guarantee payment of claims.
"They're very different in that they're not even insurance. There's no guarantee that anyone's claims will ever be paid," she said.
She said there have been cases, like maternal care for a pregnancy out of wedlock or an abortion for a non-viable pregnancy, where claims are denied by religious cost shares because the care is against the group's religious views.
And research shows there are other major shortfalls.
For example, the ministries don't have to prove they are financially solvent and they are not required to cover essential benefits.
Florida lawmakers tried this year to make it legal for insurance agents to sell the cost-sharing plans while remaining exempt from the state insurance code, but the bill stalled in the House. The legislative session is scheduled to end today.
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