Tina Passione was in dire need of health insurance in December. To be near her grandchildren, the newly retired 63 year-old moved to Atlanta with her husband. They had six weeks to remove 40 years worth of memories from their Pittsburgh house.
Passione stated that she searched online for federal health insurance marketplace and clicked on a link to enter her information. Passione received multiple phone calls from insurance brokers, and she purchased a plan for $384 per month. However, later, when she visited a Georgia doctor’s office and a pharmacy, she was informed that she didn’t have insurance.
It actually said this right on her card: “THIS ISN’T INSURANCE.”
Passione was one of 10 people who claimed they thought they were purchasing insurance. However, they later discovered that they had been offered a Jericho Share membership. According to Texas business filings, the ministry was formed when House of Prayer and Life Inc. (a 50-year-old Christian congregation) adopted the name Jericho Share in 2021.
The health care sharing ministry is a faith-based organization whose members agree that they will share the cost of medical expenses. Because they were a less expensive alternative to insurance, the ministries gained popularity before the Affordable Care Act mandated that all Americans have insurance. They aren’t insurance and aren’t regulated as such. They don’t cover medical bills. Massachusetts is the only state that requires ministries and agencies to report data on a regular basis. Only about half of claims sent to them were considered eligible for payment. Similar requirements were passed by the Colorado legislature this spring and await the governor’s approval.
Jericho Share is given an F rating by the Better Business Bureau. Its website also lists more than 100 complaints that were filed within a year. Two complaints about Jericho Share were filed by the Texas Department of Insurance in February and March. Both were answered by the department, who said it regulates insurance. Ministries are not. They were then forwarded to the state attorney general’s. KHN asked the attorney general about the status of the complaints. The office didn’t respond.
John Oxendine is a lawyer who was four times elected as Georgia’s insurance commissioner. He also ran for governor in 2010 as a Republican. He said that if memberships are being sold in misleading ways to consumers, it is a good way to fire a broker.
This story was created in partnership with Kaiser Health News.
According to Oxendine, “Jericho Share will not tolerate any kind of misrepresentation of unethical conduct by its programs.” “Whenever we are made aware of any inappropriate conduct, we immediately take the appropriate steps to rectify it.”
Oxendine stated that consumers can cancel their Jericho Share plans at any time. KHN spoke with many consumers who were able to cancel their plans and received refunds. However, some said that the process was difficult. Others were left with the task of paying bills that they had incurred even though they believed they were covered. KHN spoke to at least seven people who said that they landed with Jericho Share after searching Google for health insurance.
JoAnn Volk, codirector of Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms, stated that it is common to encounter such problems while shopping for insurance. A report titled “Misleading Marketing Practices” in 2021 was co-authored by her. It found that consumers were being directed to other health plans like ministries that could be more expensive than the marketplace plans and provide fewer protections.
Volk stated, “It is especially unfortunate because people have set themselves to purchase comprehensive coverage.”
Susan Fauman (47), a Germantown metalsmith, wanted her own policy. She had relied on her spouse’s coverage, but she was not happy with the terms of her divorcing husband. Fauman stated that her Google search led her to a number of non-governmental websites, which connect consumers with insurance brokers.
KHN could not confirm which website ultimately linked them to brokers who sold Jericho Share memberships. ObamacarePlans.com and AffordableHealthPlans.org are among the lead-generating websites that show up on Google when someone searches with terms such as “Obamacare insurance” or “healthcare marketplace.” These site listings look just like normal Google search results, but they are classified with the word “Ad” so that they are above the most relevant search result, which is healthcare.gov.
Christa Muldoon, spokesperson for Google, stated that companies who advertise in searches related to Affordable Care Act need to prove they are licensed to sell insurance through the state or federal marketplaces.
These marketplaces allow consumers to shop for comprehensive insurance and tell them if they are eligible for financial assistance. They also connect consumers with enrollment assistance if necessary. Lead-generating websites, on the other hand, sell consumers’ personal information to agents and insurance brokers who can sell different types of plans.
Fauman claimed that she had unwittingly entered her information on several lead-generating websites. She recalled that she was quickly inundated by phone calls from insurance agents.
Fauman, eager to get insurance, said she purchased a plan for $330 per month plus a $99 signing-up fee. Fauman said that the broker aEUR”, who she later discovered had not named the plan, said there would be no copays or restrictions about where she could get care. He didn’t tell her it was a health-care sharing ministry. She also said it wasn’t insurance. She was confused when she got her Jericho Share card and the disclaimer.
There have been instances when aggressive marketing tactics and ministries have raised eyebrows. Last year, the Washington state attorney general issued an alert to consumers about “ads or websites posing for the official health insurance market.” Volk from Georgetown University said that large-scale crackdowns will likely require the cooperation of multiple state regulators, as states are the default enforcers for insurance rules. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission brought a case against a Florida-based company, alleging that it had collected more than $195 million through enrolling customers in “worthless plans.” The case is still ongoing.
It’s not always easy to know who should and can’t protect consumers in this complex space that includes interstate commerce, public and private insurance, and websites.
Healthcare.gov is managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Ellen Montz, Deputy Administrator, stated that CMS will share any ad it believes is misleading HealthCare.gov.
Louise Rasho, a spokesperson from MediaAlpha which runs ObamacarePlans.com, stated in an email that MediaAlpha’s code prohibits brokers who purchase customer leads from misleading consumers. It monitors all calls for compliance. The site also has disclaimers that state that it is not a government site.
Craig Sturgill of Excel Impact, which owns AffordableHealthPlans.org, said that if the company learns a broker has broken the law or used questionable tactics, it terminates contracts and takes “further action” as necessary. Sturgill stated in an email that “As digital marketing companies, we aren’t necessarily in business of deeply educating consumers about all their options from beginning to end.” “Our role in connecting consumers to advisors that can and should educate them is ours.”
Hemani Hughes claimed that she called a broker to correct her spelling on her Jericho Share Plan aEUR”, before realizing it was a ministry. The number is listed on the websites by the Better Business Bureau, the Utah Insurance Department and as belonging to Florida-based Prosperity Health. Ahmed Shokry (Prosperity Health’s registered agent), stated that it had never sold Health Shares.
Hughes, a Kansas-based communications strategist, was 49 years old when she told a broker that she didn’t want a health-care sharing ministry plan and she was sold a Jericho Share Plan in February. Hughes stated that she discovered after the call that the broker had not mentioned the plan by name and that Hughes was signing up for a national PPO. She also explained the copays.
Hughes discovered it was a ministry of health care sharing and called to cancel her plan. Hughes described being met by “a very manipulative and very belligerent gauntlet of customer support reps and hold time” on multiple calls.
Hughes stated that Hughes was once told by people she spoke to that it was irresponsible for her to leave without insurance aEUR”, even though Jericho Share is not insurance.
Hughes detailed her story in a complaint that she filed with Better Business Bureau. Jericho Share informed the consumer watchdog it was contacting Hughes to protect her private information and stated, “We are very diligent to investigate this complaint thoroughly.” Hughes was eventually refunded.
Passione in Georgia said that she filed her complaint with Better Business Bureau after not receiving a clear answer regarding payment for prescriptions and doctor appointments. Passione cancelled her Jericho Share Plan and signed up for COBRA coverage from her former employer for $782 per month.
Passione stated, “It’s a bit pricey but I know what I get.”
Jericho Share reimbursed her for one month’s payments and she is now waiting to see if her credit card company can recover the payments she made in January, February.
Fauman also filed a complaint and received a refund. However, Fauman spent two months without insurance and avoided calling her doctor as she dealt with the situation.
Fauman stated, “I was afraid about what it was going to price me.”
With the help of a navigator, someone who is trained to assist consumers in enrolling for coverage without a commission, Fauman was able to get marketplace insurance. Fauman’s monthly premium, after subsidies, is about $95 per month. This is approximately $2,800 less than she estimated her Jericho Share plan would cost. Her new plan, however, is insurance.
KHN (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom, produces in-depth journalism on health issues. It is an independent editorial program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation).
