[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6624896,"mediaKeyId","2764911-7606aa457c69df39152e5b20888dc7f4","parentId",2764911,"title","Committee hears bill to recognize healthcare sharing ministries and exempt them from insurance code","audioSeconds",2971,"startMs",188000,"endMs",3159000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2764911-7606aa457c69df39152e5b20888dc7f4&start=188&end=3159","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2764911-7606aa457c69df39152e5b20888dc7f4/thumbnail_188000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6624896/North-Dakota/Committee-hears-bill-to-recognize-healthcare-sharing-ministries-and-exempt-them-from-insurance-code","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6624896-049776e48f43c8cc1bb92bc99e4e21b7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770422683&Signature=dwhlFEengp02UMr6li19r0XVTHKhMcIgDasinsvFsN1bZ5sDLdQ3~eg98XXMcYEM8pNNf4POf7dKkk2giuDz2ku7Wh3~N-IJt5GGpq4SFkEJHZMoHC9GSY7MJG-GSsvS5rZa9nGJTq60ydbNKHq4X-qTROAACr2yAHFcBowPFX1NBivtSG2DSg8whs~Lo91FekJY0VnSrKfcEXzKli5fBLwonaiYywMjt7GLwVkHwXvqmIDXcjNZ1kiVhyCcZB9yjiqSOTF4GuJLnYvtBUWD0fI8TX3Ed8DEIhMmvuVvZOIm2df599ENCCgMrkZZTJ665vfITfsSD6-zsxvjOSFPJw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota Legislature","date","2025-03-25T00:00:00Z","article","Senator Kent Weston introduced Senate Bill 2348 at a House Industry, Business and Labor Committee hearing, saying the bill would both ensure public colleges accept student membership in healthcare sharing ministries in lieu of campus insurance requirements and explicitly state that healthcare sharing ministries are not insurance subject to insurance regulation.

The bill would add a statutory definition for healthcare sharing ministries and provide a regulatory safe harbor: qualifying ministries must be nonprofits recognized under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), limit membership to persons who share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs, maintain audited finances and give written disclaimers to members that participation is voluntary and payments are not guaranteed. Proponents told the committee the measure is intended to protect student choice and to avoid subjecting faith-based sharing arrangements to insurance regulation.

Why it matters: Supporters said the change preserves access to higher education without forcing students to buy duplicate insurance and clarifies regulatory responsibility between the state insurance commissioner and the attorney general. Opponents said similar arrangements function like insurance in practice and that exempting them from insurance oversight reduces consumer protections and regulatory transparency.

The sponsor: \"For the record, I'm Senator Kent Weston from District 15,\" Weston said, and described the bill as addressing \"two specific and practical needs related to healthcare sharing ministries in North Dakota.\" He told the committee he had family members who had used such programs and described them as an established alternative to insurance.

Proponents' description and proposed statutory safeguards
Shane Gettle, representing Samaritan Ministries, told the committee the bill's two central functions are (1) to add a statutory definition of a healthcare sharing ministry and (2) to clarify that those ministries are not regulated as insurance. Gettle said the bill would require ministries to be 501(c)(3) nonprofits, operate under written guidelines that members sign, perform independent financial audits and provide clear disclaimers that payments are voluntary and not contractual guarantees.

Joel Noble, director of public policy for Samaritan Ministries, told the committee Samaritan serves more than 1,500 individual lives in North Dakota and estimated another roughly 4,000 lives are covered statewide across similar ministries. Noble said ministries do not assume or pool risk like insurers and that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners defines insurance as transferring risk to a company and pooling that risk. \"Healthcare sharing ministries do not assume any risk at all, nor do we guarantee payment of medical bills,\" Noble said.

Questions from the committee and clarifications from witnesses
Representative Casper asked whether the ministries provide written documentation of what is covered; Gettle deferred detailed operational questions to Noble, who said members receive guideline booklets at enrollment, sign annual continuation forms and are told up front what is shareable.

Noble said routine preventive services that are truly routine (for example, a scheduled screening without a symptom) may not be shared, but if a screening finds a condition (for example, a polyp at colonoscopy) the resulting care would then be eligible as a \"symptom-based\" need. He said members generally may choose any provider and that cash-paying members enjoy control over where they seek care.

Opposition and regulatory concerns
Dylan Wheeler of Sanford Health Plan testified in opposition. Wheeler said if a product \"is held out as, acts like, or otherwise functions like insurance, it's insurance\" and should be regulated by the North Dakota Insurance Department. He said healthcare sharing ministries can cause \"confusion, abrasion, and frustrations with patients and health systems alike,\" citing situations in which members receive bills for care they believed would be covered. Wheeler urged a \"do not pass\" recommendation.

Neutral testimony from higher education
Katie Fitzsimmons, director of student affairs for the North Dakota University System, said the system stands neutral after an amendment added an exception for international students (who must hold visa-mandated insurance). She said campuses already accept healthcare sharing ministries in many cases and that most students report having some form of coverage. Fitzsimmons said pockets of students (international students, some professional programs, student athletes) remain subject to specific insurance requirements under state board policy.

Key clarifications made in the hearing
- The bill carves out international students from the higher-education waiver so visa-required insurance remains mandatory for that population (amendment discussed and later incorporated in testimony).
- Supporters said healthcare sharing ministries will remain subject to oversight as charities under the attorney general's authority and to IRS regulation as 501(c)(3) nonprofits; the bill would remove ambiguity about insurance regulation but not remove all forms of oversight.
- Proponents recommended requiring independent financial audits and written disclaimers for transparency.

Next steps
The committee held the public hearing and heard both proponent and opponent testimony and clarifications from the North Dakota University System; no final committee vote on Senate Bill 2348 appears in the hearing record provided.

Sources: Committee hearing transcript; testimony of Senator Kent Weston, Shane Gettle (representing Samaritan Ministries), Joel Noble (Samaritan Ministries), Dylan Wheeler (Sanford Health Plan), and Katie Fitzsimmons (North Dakota University System).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Industry, Business and Labor Mar 25, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senator Kent Weston introduced Senate Bill 2348 at a House Industry, Business and Labor Committee hearing, saying the bill would both ensure public colleges accept student membership in healthcare sharing ministries in lieu of campus insurance requirements and explicitly state that healthcare sharing ministries are not insurance subject to insurance regulation.","taxTitle","Industry, Business and Labor, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28894,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6624892,"Committee actions: dental joint-negotiation bill rejected; audit of Development Fund advanced; study of boards tabled",2515,3735000,6250000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2764911-7606aa457c69df39152e5b20888dc7f4&start=3735&end=6250","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2764911-7606aa457c69df39152e5b20888dc7f4/thumbnail_3735000.jpg","/articles/6624892/North-Dakota/Committee-actions-dental-joint-negotiation-bill-rejected-audit-of-Development-Fund-advanced-study-of-boards-tabled","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6624892-304e16318764c839e401b1840be0527e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770422683&Signature=fa8mTBhsPFeiTtsR4sM~ZFguwdpLp4VZqqDY40br71DIVXGwU0DRSuCBGEny6mWqZL1a9z3XBaWUNqfvK-Wns23Lsm-acSTBqmhKd9-ElT8y6HL2IXDe6D0Z-Lwl5zOFDqJjFu0M~4Cawskqx~LPktEtvjTpPh5VI9QIlULvZMbh3nYOIV9PAws4yp1isLDF8oF0X2HzE4zH6JsKIK~tAKJjGzh74KGndHQ3QVa5PP5FmRGbDxY8FBAIqsGfvVbtz4nH6qADrF4miM8aXMcyvrFuFsjZ1naDcWwWDDIXV2RHEJ6mfllEZGBecaP7w-6KVJhCM9Cy41nCqWbVcIO9kA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee took formal action on multiple bills during the same meeting.

SB 2375 (voluntary joint negotiations for dental providers and insurers)
Representative Jordan Koppelman moved and Vice Chair Osley seconded amendments offered by Perel (Peril) Grossman (representing the American Council of Life Insurers); the committee adopted those amendments by voice. Later, Representative Ruby moved a committee recommendation of \"do not pass as amended\"; the motion carried. The committee's roll-call in the provided record counted eight votes in favor of \"do not pass,\" five opposed and one absence (recorded in the transcript as \"8-5-1\"). The adopted outcome is a committee recommendation against advancing SB 2375.

SB 2396 (performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund)
Representative Koppelman offered an amendment to require legislative management to contract with an independent third party to perform a performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund and to report findings to Legislative Management; the amendment also added a capped appropriation to fund the work. The committee approved an amendment setting a cap at $250,000 for a third-party audit contractor and removed language naming the Department of Commerce as the audit recipient; the amendment directs the independent auditor's findings to legislative management for integration with the state auditor's work. Representative Koppelman then moved a due-pass recommendation as amended and to re-refer the bill to appropriations; Representative Ruby seconded. A roll-call in the transcript shows the measure carried in committee and was referred to appropriations (the committee record shows a majority voice/roll-call in favor).

SB 2357 (study of boards and commissions)
Representative Koppelman moved a \"do not pass\" recommendation, noting the subject (consolidation or study of boards and commissions) overlaps with another pending measure (a task force bill reported out by another committee). The committee recorded a roll-call of 11 in favor of \"do not pass\" and 1 opposed. The committee recommendation was to not advance SB 2357.

Why these outcomes mattered
- SB 2375: The committee chose not to advance a bill that would have facilitated voluntary joint negotiations between dental providers and insurers and that had drawn both provider-side sponsors and insurer opposition on competition and antitrust grounds.
- SB 2396: The committee advanced a targeted oversight step to obtain a third-party performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund, including a capped appropriation for the work; the amendment directs findings to legislative management for review.
- SB 2357: The committee declined to pursue a separate study of boards and commissions, citing overlap with another task-force approach.

Provenance: each outcome and vote is recorded in the committee transcript provided. The transcript shows motions, amendment adoption, and roll-call results for the three bills summarized above.

Sources: Committee hearing transcript; motions and roll calls recorded during the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee meeting.","The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee recorded three committee-level outcomes: it rejected a bill that would permit voluntary joint negotiations between dental providers and insurers (Senate Bill 2375), approved a limited third-party performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund with an appropriation, and voted down a separate","actionData","errors"]

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Committee hears bill to recognize healthcare sharing ministries and exempt them from insurance code

Committee actions: dental joint-negotiation bill rejected; audit of Development Fund advanced; study of boards tabled