Proposed regulations would define expenditures for direct primary care arrangements and health care sharing ministry memberships as amounts paid for medical care. Thus, amounts paid for those arrangements may be deductible medical expenses. The proposed regulations also clarify that amounts paid for certain arrangements and programs, such as health maintenance organizations (HMO) and certain government-sponsored health care programs, are amounts paid for medical insurance.
President Trump’s Executive Order 13877, “Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First” (84 FR 30849) directed Treasury to treat expenses related to these types of arrangements as eligible medical expenses.
These regulations are proposed to apply for tax years that begin on or after the date of publication of a Treasury Decision adopting these rules as final regulations.
Caution: Characterization of direct primary care arrangements and health care sharing ministry memberships as medical insurance may affect eligibility to contribute to a health savings account (HSA). For an individual in a direct primary care arrangement, the type of coverage provided by the arrangement will affect eligibility. Membership in a health care sharing ministry would preclude an individual from contributing to an HSA.
Direct Primary Care Arrangement
A direct primary care arrangement is a contract between an individual and one or more primary care physicians under which the physician or physicians agree to provide medical care for a fixed annual or periodic fee without billing a third party.
The IRS requests comments on whether to expand the definition to include a contract with nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, or physician assistants who provide primary care services. The IRS also requests comments on whether the final regulations should clarify the treatment of other types of arrangements that are similar to direct primary care arrangements, such as an agreement between a dentist and a patient to provide dental care, or a physician and patient to provide specialty care.
Health Care Sharing Ministry
The proposed regulations define a health care sharing ministry as an organization:
- that is described in Code Sec. 501(c)(3) and is exempt from taxation under Code Sec. 501(a);
- members of which share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and share medical expenses among members in accordance with those beliefs and without regard to the state in which a member resides or is employed;
- members of which retain membership even after they develop a medical condition;
- which (or a predecessor of which) has been in existence at all times since December 31, 1999, and medical expenses of its members have been shared continuously and without interruption since at least December 31, 1999; and
- that conducts an annual audit performed by an independent certified public accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and that is made available to the public upon request.
The proposed regulations provide that medical insurance under Code Sec. 213(d)(1)(D) includes health care sharing ministries that share expenses for medical care under Code Sec. 213(d)(1)(A). This proposal does not affect whether a health care sharing ministry is considered an insurance company, insurance service, or insurance organization (health insurance issuer) for other purposes of the Code, ERISA, the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), or any other federal or state law.
Fees for HMO Membership and Government-Sponsored Programs
The proposed regulations incorporate the longstanding IRS position of treating amounts paid for membership in an HMO as medical insurance premiums. Amounts paid to an HMO or a provider to cover coinsurance, copayment, or deductible obligations under an HMO’s terms are payments for medical care. In either case, such payments are eligible for the medical expense deduction.
Amounts paid for coverage under certain government-sponsored health care programs are also treated as amounts paid for medical insurance. The proposed regulations:
- incorporate the guidance in Code Sec. 213(d)(1)(D) and Rev. Rul. 79-175 that Medicare Parts A and B are medical insurance;
- clarify that Medicare Parts C and D are medical insurance; and
- provide that Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), TRICARE, and certain veterans’ health care programs are medical insurance.
Thus, to extent individuals pay premiums or enrollment fees for coverage under these programs, those amounts would be eligible for deduction as a medical expense.
The IRS requests comments on whether amounts paid for other government-sponsored health care programs should be treated as amounts paid for medical insurance.
