Congress freed health care sharing ministries from the Affordable Care Act rules that apply to major medical insurance plans, but the ministries are trying to develop their own rules.
U.S. Government Accountability Office investigators found that the ministries have taken steps such as seeking accreditation and putting warnings about the fact that they are not health insurance companies in their marketing materials, according to a new GAO report.
What It Means
The GAO report shows what kinds of rules a financial services organization may have to adopt to stay in operation, even if it faces no government-mandated rules.
What the GAO Found
The GAO is a congressional agency that helps lawmakers keep tabs on the rest of the government.
The GAO looked at health care sharing ministries and other alternatives to major medical insurance because of some lawmakers' fears that the alternative programs may be luring healthier consumers away from commercial health insurers.
The GAO located nine ministries that are open to the public and reviewed the operations of five.
