Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 660
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       24-00834-18                                            2018660__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida Insurance Code
    3         exemption for nonprofit religious organizations;
    4         amending s. 624.1265, F.S.; revising criteria under
    5         which a nonprofit religious organization that
    6         facilitates the sharing of contributions among its
    7         participants for financial or medical needs is exempt
    8         from requirements of the code; revising construction;
    9         revising requirements for a notice provided by the
   10         organization; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 624.1265, Florida Statutes, is amended
   15  to read:
   16         624.1265 Nonprofit religious organization exemption;
   17  authority; notice.—
   18         (1) A nonprofit religious organization is not subject to
   19  the requirements of the Florida Insurance Code if the nonprofit
   20  religious organization:
   21         (a) Qualifies under Title 26, s. 501 of the Internal
   22  Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
   23         (b) Limits its participants to those members who share a
   24  common set of ethical or religious beliefs of the same religion;
   25         (c) Acts as a facilitator among an organizational
   26  clearinghouse for information between participants who have
   27  financial, physical, or medical needs to assist those with
   28  financial or medical needs in accordance with criteria
   29  established by the nonprofit religious organization and
   30  participants who have the ability to pay for the benefit of
   31  those participants who have financial, physical, or medical
   32  needs;
   33         (d) Provides for the financial or medical needs of a
   34  participant through contributions from other participants;
   35  payments directly from one participant to another participant;
   36  and
   37         (e) Provides amounts that participants may contribute, with
   38  no assumption of risk and no promise to pay:
   39         1. Among the participants; or
   40         2. By the nonprofit religious organization to the
   41  participants;
   42         (f) Provides monthly to the participants the total dollar
   43  amount of qualified needs actually shared in the previous month
   44  in accordance with criteria established by the nonprofit
   45  religious organization; and
   46         (g) Conducts an annual audit that is performed by an
   47  independent certified public accounting firm in accordance with
   48  generally accepted accounting principles and that is made
   49  available to the public by providing a copy upon request or by
   50  posting on the nonprofit religious organization’s website
   51  suggests amounts that participants may voluntarily give with no
   52  assumption of risk or promise to pay among the participants or
   53  between the participants.
   54         (2) This section does not prevent:
   55         (a) The organization described in subsection (1) from
   56  acting as a facilitator among participants who have financial or
   57  medical needs to assist those with financial or medical needs in
   58  accordance with criteria established by the organization;
   59  establishing qualifications of participation relating to the
   60  health of a prospective participant, does not prevent
   61         (b) A participant from limiting the financial or medical
   62  needs that may be eligible for payment; or, and does not prevent
   63         (c) The organization from canceling the membership of a
   64  participant when such participant indicates his or her
   65  unwillingness to participate by failing to make a payment to
   66  another participant for a period in excess of 60 days.
   67         (3) The nonprofit religious organization described in
   68  subsection (1) shall provide a written disclaimer on or
   69  accompanying all applications and guideline materials
   70  distributed by or on behalf of the nonprofit religious
   71  organization. The disclaimer must read in substance: “Notice:
   72  The organization facilitating the sharing of medical expenses is
   73  not an insurance company, and neither its guidelines nor plan of
   74  operation is an insurance policy. Whether anyone chooses to
   75  assist you with your medical bills will be totally voluntary
   76  because no other participant is compelled by law to contribute
   77  toward your medical bills. As such, participation in the
   78  organization or a subscription to any of its documents should
   79  never be considered to be insurance. Regardless of whether you
   80  receive any payments for medical expenses or whether this
   81  organization continues to operate, you are always personally
   82  responsible for the payment of your own medical bills.” each
   83  prospective participant in the organizational clearinghouse
   84  written notice that the organization is not an insurance
   85  company, that membership is not offered through an insurance
   86  company, and that the organization is not subject to the
   87  regulatory requirements or consumer protections of the Florida
   88  Insurance Code.
   89         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.