View the Report
Jump to All Downloads & LinksThe specific characteristics of health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) can vary, but they generally are limited to those who share a common set of religious or ethical beliefs. HCSMs serve a purpose akin to health insurance in that members make monthly payments or “share” to cover qualifying medical expenses of other members.
With funding from the California Health Care Foundation, the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University conducted interviews in early 2018 with stakeholders in California about alternative coverage arrangements, including two HCSMs with California membership, brokers, and state regulators.
This presentation summarizes their key findings on the following:
- Characteristics of HCSMs
- Differences between HCSMs and insurance for providers and patients
- Federal and state regulations of HCSMs
- HCSM membership growth in California and the potential for further growth
- Questions for regulators
For more national research on HCSMs see links below from the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Authors & Contributors
JoAnn Volk
JoAnn Volk is a research professor at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms. There she directs research, authors papers, and provides technical assistance on state and federal regulation and legislation governing private health insurance, including health insurance marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act.
Volk serves as a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and is a member of the Committee on Performance Measurement at the National Committee for Quality Assurance. She has a bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University.
Dania Palanker
Dania Palanker is an assistant research professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) at Georgetown’s Health Policy Institute. She analyzes state and federal health insurance market reforms, including implementation of the Affordable Care Act, with an emphasis on insurance benefit design, access to health care, and coverage for chronic health conditions.
Before joining CHIR, Palanker was senior counsel for health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), where she worked on private insurance policy, including access to maternity coverage, preventive services, and treatment for chronic health conditions through the individual insurance market and employer-sponsored coverage. Prior to joining NWLC, she worked for 10 years with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). During her time at SEIU, Palanker worked as associate director of health policy after serving as deputy administrator of health benefit funds providing health insurance to low-wage workers and their families.
Palanker holds a doctor of jurisprudence degree from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She received her bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College. She is a member of the New York and DC Bar.
