In-depth accreditation protects consumers looking at health care sharing ministries
“To commit fraud by using the name of Jesus is unconscionable,” said J. Craig Brown II, president and CEO of
An HCSM such as CHM isn’t health insurance, but is instead a faith-based cost sharing ministry through which members contribute monthly financial gifts to share in paying each other’s medical bills. Since its founding in 1981, CHM has satisfied over
On
Brown said that consumers should not only ask whether an HCSM is accredited, but should inquire about the strength of that accreditation.
“Consumers need to ask questions, for their own protection,” Brown said. “Who conducted the review? Does their expertise qualify them to perform the review? To what extent were they independent of the organization they reviewed? What was included in the review, and what was not? What were the processes used to conduct the review? How long did the review take? Is the final report available to the public? These are key questions that tell the quality, rigor, and independence of the review.”
In
• Registered with the
• An approved rating organization by the
• First to issue Financial Stability Ratings® for health maintenance organizations.
• First to review and rate specialty, regional, and independent specialty insurers.
• First to have property and casualty rating process accepted by the
As a health care sharing ministry, CHM isn’t insurance, Brown said, which is why Demotech’s experience and ability to provide innovative solutions in reviewing and analyzing a wide variety of entities put it in an excellent position to use its Faith-Based Sharing Review™ (FbSR™) on a four-month deep-dive into CHM’s operations, policies and procedures.
Demotech staff members were able to examine whatever they wished to see, complete a comprehensive examination of CHM, which included interviewing staff members. The FbSR™’s 30 review areas were divided into five groupings: core qualifications; transparency of operations; ministry motivation; financial accountability; and protection of members.
Among the areas of focus within those groupings are:
• Annually files a Form 990 with the
• Members are of the same religion or sect and voluntarily share certain medical expenses among themselves in accordance with, and as an exercise and expression of, their faith
• Subjects its entire operation (including all operating costs, incoming gifts and all bills shared) to an audit performed annually by an independent certified public accounting firm using generally accepted accounting principles, made publicly available upon request.
• No for-profit, third-party contractors engaged in processing financial gifts to the ministry are used to share payment for medical bills.
• No individual who is otherwise qualified is excluded or terminated from membership, or asked to provide additional gifts or donations, based on health history.
• Operates under a code of conduct which requires ethical behavior on the part of all of its employees, board and management, and which requires disclosure of conflicts of interest.
“Consumers can protect themselves from people who misuse the word ‘Christian’ as a way to make money,” Brown said. “The more consumers know about what went into a HCSM accreditation, the better off they’ll be.”
*Source:
ABOUT
The ministry, under the leadership of President and CEO J. Craig Brown II, is headquartered in
• Web: chministries.org
• Facebook: fb.com/iheartchm
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/iheartchm
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/iheartchm/
[email protected]
Transparency and consumer protection: CHM earns independent accreditation
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