Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow Announces Jericho Share to Cease Operations in New York for Selling Unlicensed Health Insurance Plans

Department of Financial Services (DFS) Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow today announced that House of Prayer and Life, Inc. d/b/a Jericho Share or Jericho Health Share ("Jericho") will pay a $250,000 penalty to New York State and more than $35,000 to policyholders for operating as an unlicensed insurance business. An investigation determined Jericho operated an illegal insurance business since 2021 and that Jericho sold insurance products that were misrepresented as health care sharing ministry member sharing plans.

"Today's settlement returns money back to impacted consumers while ensuring the stability and integrity of the insurance market," said Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow.

New York Insurance Law prohibits any person or entity from operating an insurance business in New York without a license issued by the Department. The Department's investigation revealed that, despite never holding a license to transact insurance business in New York, Jericho advertised and marketed its products through insurance producers via the New York State and federal health insurance marketplaces, ultimately entering into more than 13,900 insurance contracts with New York residents, and administering these health plans between 2021 and 2025. These products did not provide consumers with comprehensive health care coverage required under state and federal laws, which require that insurers guarantee benefits to cover essential medical services, provide coverage for pre-existing conditions, and adhere to stringent financial reserve requirements.

The DFS investigation found that through the use of disclaimers and non-insurance terminology in its plan materials, Jericho designed its products to evade New York State's Insurance Law. Notably, Jericho's producer training materials included a list of insurance-related terms that producers were instructed to avoid using, directly to avoid fines, audits and questions regarding the programs' validity. Additionally, New York Insurance Law requires that licensed insurers spend at least 82% of paid premiums on medical benefits for members. By contrast, Jericho used a very small percentage of premiums to reimburse medical expenses annually. In 2021 and 2022, Jericho allocated 12.5% of membership fees toward the payment of medical costs for members, based on an actuarial assessment. In 2023, the Department found, Jericho allocated 10.6% of membership fees collected toward the payment of consumer medical costs.

Today's settlement requires Jericho to permanently cease and desist transacting business in New York, other than operations necessary to fulfill the terms of the consent order, and to provide more than $35,000 in refunds to New Yorkers. The settlement requires Jericho to cancel all active contracts with New York members on March 19, 2026. Jericho must notify currently enrolled members of the impending cancelation and refund each New Yorker who was a member as of December 19, 2025 in the amount of one month's premium payment. Jericho is also required to process pending and future requests for payment of medical costs associated with the final New York members and make all required payments pursuant to these requests. More information about the payment process can be found here.

Read the Jericho consent order on the Department's website.