Zane Benefits Publishes New Information on HRAs and Health Care Ministry Sharing Programs

(PRWEB) July 17, 2013

Today, Zane Benefits, the online alternative to group health insurance, published new information on HRAs and Health Care Ministry Sharing.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) offer non-profits, faith-based organizations, and churches a dynamic health benefits tool to recruit and retain key employees. This article looks at how organizations can use Health Reimbursement Arrangements with health care ministry sharing programs, commonly referred to as medishare or medi-share programs.

There are several faith-based organizations who offer health care sharing ministries, individuals that belong to a health sharing ministry are exempt from the individual responsibility requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2014. In other words, if an individual belongs to a health sharing ministry, they are not subject to the "individual mandate." According to the federal definition outlined in the PPACA, a health care ministry program:

   •  Must be a 501(c)(3) organization

   •  Members must share common ethical or religious beliefs

   •  Must not discriminate membership based on state of residence or employment

   •  Members cannot lose membership due to development of a medical condition

   •  Must have existed and been in practice continually since December 31, 1999 (a grandfather clause)

   •  Must be subject to an annual audit by an independent CPA which must be publicly available upon request

According to Zane Benefits’ website, health care ministry programs are not offered by an insurance company, and the benefit is not insurance. Therefore, the membership fees/donations are not reimbursable through a Health Reimbursement Arrangement according to IRS guidelines. However, there is a way these medi-sharing programs and HRAs work well together.

Click here to read full article.

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About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHRA") for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about ZaneHRA, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/7/prweb10934034.htm