SB 660                                           First Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       2018660e1
       
    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, physical, or medical needs
    8         is exempt from requirements of the code; revising
    9         construction; revising requirements for a notice
   10         provided by the organization; providing an effective
   11         date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 624.1265, Florida Statutes, is amended
   16  to read:
   17         624.1265 Nonprofit religious organization exemption;
   18  authority; notice.—
   19         (1) A nonprofit religious organization is not subject to
   20  the requirements of the Florida Insurance Code if the nonprofit
   21  religious organization:
   22         (a) Qualifies under Title 26, s. 501 of the Internal
   23  Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
   24         (b) Limits its participants to those members who share a
   25  common set of ethical or religious beliefs of the same religion;
   26         (c) Acts as a facilitator among an organizational
   27  clearinghouse for information between participants who have
   28  financial, physical, or medical needs to assist those with
   29  financial, physical, or medical needs in accordance with
   30  criteria established by the nonprofit religious organization and
   31  participants who have the ability to pay for the benefit of
   32  those participants who have financial, physical, or medical
   33  needs;
   34         (d) Provides for the financial or medical needs of a
   35  participant through contributions from other participants, or
   36  through payments directly from one participant to another
   37  participant; and
   38         (e) Provides amounts that participants may contribute, with
   39  no assumption of risk and no promise to pay:
   40         1. Among the participants; or
   41         2. By the nonprofit religious organization to the
   42  participants;
   43         (f) Provides a monthly accounting to the participants of
   44  the total dollar amount of qualified needs actually shared in
   45  the previous month in accordance with criteria established by
   46  the nonprofit religious organization; and
   47         (g) Conducts an annual audit that is performed by an
   48  independent certified public accounting firm in accordance with
   49  generally accepted accounting principles and that is made
   50  available to the public by providing a copy upon request or by
   51  posting on the nonprofit religious organization’s website
   52  suggests amounts that participants may voluntarily give with no
   53  assumption of risk or promise to pay among the participants or
   54  between the participants.
   55         (2) This section does not prevent:
   56         (a) The organization described in subsection (1) from
   57  establishing qualifications of participation relating to the
   58  health of a prospective participant, does not prevent A
   59  participant from limiting the financial or medical needs that
   60  may be eligible for payment; or, and does not prevent
   61         (b) The nonprofit religious organization from canceling the
   62  membership of a participant when such participant indicates his
   63  or her unwillingness to participate by failing to meet the
   64  conditions of membership make a payment to another participant
   65  for a period in excess of 60 days.
   66         (3) The nonprofit religious organization described in
   67  subsection (1) shall provide a written disclaimer on or
   68  accompanying all applications and guideline materials
   69  distributed by or on behalf of the nonprofit religious
   70  organization. The disclaimer must read in substance: “Notice:
   71  The organization facilitating the sharing of medical expenses is
   72  not an insurance company, and neither its guidelines nor its
   73  plan of operation is an insurance policy. Membership is not
   74  offered through an insurance company, and the organization is
   75  not subject to the regulatory requirements or consumer
   76  protections of the Florida Insurance Code. Whether anyone
   77  chooses to assist you with your medical bills will be totally
   78  voluntary because no other participant is compelled by law to
   79  contribute toward your medical bills. As such, participation in
   80  the organization or a subscription to any of its documents
   81  should never be considered to be insurance. Regardless of
   82  whether you receive any payments for medical expenses or whether
   83  this organization continues to operate, you are always
   84  personally responsible for the payment of your own medical
   85  bills.” each prospective participant in the organizational
   86  clearinghouse written notice that the organization is not an
   87  insurance company, that membership is not offered through an
   88  insurance company, and that the organization is not subject to
   89  the regulatory requirements or consumer protections of the
   90  Florida Insurance Code.
   91         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.