Bill would make health care sharing ministries tax deductible (on federal income tax)

Solidarity is an exclusively Roman Catholic health sharing organization.

Besides not mentioning this limitation of the bill, Center Right's report contains several other oddities.

My comments follow the post.

https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_8c886c45-7190-4c9e-b023-036462bd1e93.html

Bill would make health care sharing ministries tax deductible

Tate Miller    |     Nov 17, 2025

(The Center Square) – The president of a health sharing ministry says he supports a bill that would make health share systems tax deductible, additionally stating that health sharing brings transparency and accountability to healthcare.

President and co-founder of Solidarity HealthShare Chris Faddis told The Center Square that “it is time” for the Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act in order to allow “healthcare sharing members to access tax deductions offered to everyone else.”

The Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act “would allow individuals to deduct the cost [of] health sharing arrangements,” Faddis said.

Faddis said he and Solidarity HealthShare “commend” this bill introduced in February by Senator Ted Budd, a Republican from North Carolina.

Budd’s bill would “allow families to deduct the cost of a health sharing ministry membership from their annual tax bill,” according to a press release.

Budd’s office has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Chris Faddis told The Center Square that ​​”there are substantive ways Congress can strengthen the health sharing sector and create even more opportunity for people to enjoy the benefits of lower health care costs,” one way being Budd’s bill.

“Further action is also needed to allow people to use their health savings accounts (HSAs) in conjunction with a health sharing program,” Faddis said.

Faddis told The Center Square: “While congress has continued to fail to fix the broken [Affordable Care Act], healthcare sharing ministries have continued to provide a real solution that is helping every day Americans without putting a drain on the US taxpayer.”

In light of an Americans for Tax Reform commentary on the transparency, market pressure, and freedom of choice health care sharing ministries (HCSM) bring, Faddis told The Center Square that HCSMs “bring transparency and accountability through putting patients in the [driver’s] seat of their healthcare, including allowing patients to choose their providers, restoring the patient - doctor relationship.”

HCSMs “also offer a solution for price transparency by discounting and negotiating bloated pricing to the true fair and just cost of care.” Faddis said.

Faddis said that “at Solidarity this effort results in a 64% reduction in cost of care while increasing quality and patient satisfaction.”

In March of this year, Republican ​​U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (PA), Greg Murphy (NC), and Chris Smith (NJ) introduced the Health Care Sharing Ministry Tax Parity Act to “allow American taxpayers who are members” of HCSMs “to deduct payments made as part of their ministry membership in their taxes by classifying regular HCSM expenses as eligible medical care expenses.”

As stated in a press release on this bill, HCSMs are “tax-exempt, faith-based charities that help facilitate payments for medical care bills.”

Health sharing ministry Liberty HealthShare was not able to respond to The Center Square’s request for comment by publishing time.

 One small quibble: Liberty is the smallest of the faith-based organizations, with a somewhat troubled history. Why not reach out to one the top three for a credible quote?

More importantly, for maximum benefit, we should probably look to state deductions or credits.

Under current IRS rules, very few Americans qualify for a medical deduction, and the very affordability of health sharing membership makes it unlikely to top up the difference.

The “Double Hurdle” System: Why This Deduction is So Hard to Claim
To get a single dollar of tax benefit from your medical bills, you must clear two separate and distinct hurdles. Failing either one means your deduction is $0.

Hurdle 1: You Must “Itemize” Your Deductions (Beating the Standard Deduction)
This is the “great filter” that disqualifies more than 90% of Americans. The IRS gives you a choice on your tax return:

Take the Standard Deduction: A massive, no-questions-asked deduction.
Take your Itemized Deductions: A list of all your specific, eligible expenses, added up on Schedule A (Form 1040).
You must choose whichever one is higher. You cannot take the standard deduction and deduct your medical bills. It is a strict either/or choice.

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If your total itemized deductions (SALT, mortgage, charity, and medical) don’t add up to more than your standard deduction ($30,000 for a couple in 2025), you’re done. Your medical expenses provide zero tax benefit.

Hurdle 2: The 7.5% of AGI “Floor” (The Permanent Threshold)
This is the second, and more confusing, hurdle. Even if you do itemize, you don’t get to deduct your total medical bills. You only get to deduct the portion of your bills that exceeds 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

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Clipped here for length, the full explanation is well worth the read, complete with IRS-allowed deductions, story problem examples, and math formulae.

https://ourtaxpartner.com/medical-expense-deductions-what-qualifies-in-2025/