March 2, 2026
Alliance highlights First Amendment defense against Atheist’s attack on Health Care Sharing Ministries
Deputy Director Catherine Snow says the atheist group’s campaign targets constitutional protections, not consumer fraud
WASHINGTON — The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries’ (Alliance) Deputy Director Catherine Snow today underscored her recent op-ed arguing that an atheist organization’s warnings against Health Care Sharing Ministries represent an ideological assault on the First Amendment.
In the op-ed, titled “Atheist group’s attack on Health Care Sharing Ministries is a direct assault on the First Amendment,” Snow contends that the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s (FFRF) campaign goes beyond consumer protection and instead seeks to force religious ministries into regulatory frameworks designed for commercial insurance carriers.
“This is not about fraud prevention,” Snow said. “It is about compelling religious communities to operate as if they were profit-driven corporations, subjecting them to intrusive oversight that chills religious exercise and freedom of association.”
Health Care Sharing Ministries are voluntary religious associations in which members commit morally — not contractually — to share one another’s medical needs. Federal law and the laws of 34 states recognize them as religious, nonprofit mutual-aid organizations distinct from insurance carriers.
More than 1 million Americans participate in Health Care Sharing Ministries, sharing more than $1 billion annually to assist families facing cancer, catastrophic injury and life-altering illness.
FFRF has urged regulators to treat these ministries as commercial insurers, advocating expanded reporting and registration requirements that would compel disclosure of internal operations and ministry communications.
“Forcing Health Care Sharing Ministries into insurance codes designed for corporations is not neutral regulation,” Snow said. “It is religious targeting that the Constitution forbids.”
The Alliance maintains that Health Care Sharing Ministries make clear to members that they are not insurance, that participation is voluntary, and that members remain responsible for their own medical bills.
“Members affirm in writing that these programs are voluntary religious communities, not insurance contracts,” Snow added. “Transparency and honest marketing are essential, and we support enforcement against anyone who misrepresents these ministries.”
According to the Alliance, the broader legislative campaign against Health Care Sharing Ministries seeks to narrow the space religious Americans are permitted to occupy, despite longstanding constitutional protections.
“The First Amendment protects not only belief, but the right of religious communities to organize and serve one another without excessive government entanglement,” Snow said. “Health Care Sharing Ministries are lawful, voluntary and protected.”
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries is a 501(c)(6) trade organization representing the common interests of Health Care Sharing Ministries, which facilitate the sharing of health care needs — financial, emotional and spiritual — by individuals and families. The Alliance engages with federal and state regulators, members of the media, and the Christian community to provide accurate and timely information on health care sharing.
To learn more about the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, visit www.ahcsm.org or follow the ministry on Facebook or Twitter.
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To interview a representative from the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Richard Jefferson, rjefferson@hamiltonstrategies.com.
