Washington Commissioner Fines Illegal Health Insurer $350,000

Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer fined ClearShare Health, Clearwater Benefits LLC, and three related companies $350,000 for selling unauthorized health insurance.

Kuderer also ordered the companies to stop transacting unauthorized insurance, including selling ClearShare health plans in Washington.

Clearwater Benefits is a non-resident sales agency authorized to sell life and disability products in Washington that was also marketing and selling ClearShare Health plans, but an inquiry prompted the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to investigate whether ClearShare’s health plans were being sold legally.

ClearShare is a nonprofit incorporated in April 2022 that markets itself as a healthcare sharing ministry. The company sold 376 memberships to Washington residents between August 1, 2022, and March 30, 2024. Around 200 of those were sold before ClearShare was exempted from federal income tax as a non-profit organization by the Internal Revenue Service, which was effective in February of 2023.

OIC’s investigation found ClearShare reported it collected $524,095 in premiums from Washington members between August 2022 and March 2024, and paid $54,201 towards their medical expenses while denying another $54,535 in expenses.

ClearShare’s plans also included pre-existing condition exclusions, while other medical services such as abortion, which must be covered in accordance with state law, weren’t covered, according to the OIC.

Healthcare sharing ministries are required to meet a certain set of qualifications, which includes sharing medical expenses continuously since December 31, 1999, which ClearShare (incorporated in 2022) has not, so it was not considered a healthcare sharing ministry and was not authorized to sell health insurance in Washington. The companies were determined to be operating illegally, and are subject to fines of up to $25,000 per violation.

Kuderer also ordered ClearShare to pay taxes, including interest and penalties, on the premiums collected from Washington residents.

The OIC received a final order on its case against Unite Health Share Ministries and United Faith Ministries on November 6, 2025. OIC’s Presiding Officer ruled the companies did not meet the criteria to be classified as a healthcare sharing ministry and violated the insurance code. The companies have filed a petition seeking judicial review of the final order.

Topics Carriers Washington