‘Sham’ Sharing Ministries Test Faith of Patients and Insurance Regulators

May 17, 2019

(Kaiser Health News) – Each of these Washington state residents required medical treatment during the past few years, and each thought they had purchased health insurance through an online site. But when it was time to pay the bills, they learned that the products they bought through Aliera Healthcare Inc. weren’t insurance at all — and that the cost of their care wasn’t covered. Lewis and the others had enrolled in what Aliera officials claimed was a health care sharing ministry (HCSM) — faith-based co-ops in which members agree to pay one another’s medical bills.