Reference is to Printer's Date 5/15/14-H.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, immediately after SECTION 1, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:
/ SECTION __. Section 38-3-110(5) of the 1976 Code is amended by adding a new subitem (d) to read:
"(d) A healthcare
sharing ministry is not considered to be engaging in the
business of insurance and is not subject to the insurance laws
of this State. The director must therefore make clear in the
reports he prepares pursuant to the requirements of this section
that under South Carolina law a healthcare sharing ministry is
not considered to be engaging in the business of insurance and
is not subject to the insurance laws of this State. For
purposes of this subitem, "healthcare sharing ministry'
means a faith-based, nonprofit organization that is tax-exempt
under the Internal Revenue Code that:
(1)
limits its participants to those who are of a similar
faith;
(2)
acts as a facilitator among participants who have
financial or medical needs, or both, and matches those
participants with other participants with the present ability to
assist those with financial or medical needs, or both, in
accordance with criteria established by the healthcare sharing
ministry;
(3)
provides for the financial or medical needs, or both, of a
participant through contributions from one participant or
multiple participants to another;
(4)
provides amounts that participants may contribute with no
assumption of risk or promise to pay among the participants and
no assumption of risk or promise to pay by the healthcare
sharing ministry to the participants;
(5)
provides a written monthly statement to all participants
that lists the total dollar amount of qualified needs submitted
to the healthcare sharing ministry, as well as the amount
actually published or assigned to participants for their
contributions;
(6)
satisfies Title 26, Chapter 48, Section
5000A(d)(2)(B)(ii)(IV) of the United States Code;
(7)
provides a written disclaimer on or accompanying all
applications and guideline materials distributed by or on behalf
of the organization that reads:
'Important Notice: The healthcare sharing
ministry facilitating the sharing of medical expenses is not a
health insurance company, and neither its guidelines nor plan of
operation is an insurance policy. Whether anyone chooses to
assist you with your medical bills will be totally voluntary
because no other participant or group of participants will be
compelled by law to contribute toward your medical bills. As
such, participation in the organization or a subscription to any
of its documents should never be considered to be insurance.
Regardless of whether you receive any payment for medical
expenses or whether this organization continues to operate, you
are always personally responsible for the payment of your own
medical bills'; and
(8)
provides a written disclaimer on all participation cards
issued by or on behalf of the organization that states the
healthcare sharing ministry is not insurance."
/
Amend the bill further, immediately before SECTION 6, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:
/ SECTION __. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.