If you have a job, thank the Lord. If you have a job that provides health insurance, thank the Lord twice. Not everyone is so fortunate. An estimated 45 million people in the United States are without health insurance of any kind, and many more are underinsured.
As an alternative to traditional health insurance, some otherwise uninsured Christians are turning to medical sharing societies. Such groups offer benefits similar to health insurance, but they rely on a type of voluntary giving to meet the medical needs of others in the group, along with an agreement to live according to healthy Biblical principles.
There are several different programs and, although each is structured somewhat differently, they are generally organized along similar lines. Some examples:
Picky, Picky
Not just anyone can join one of these plans, and that is part of what makes them cost effective. It is well-documented that a “Christian lifestyle” is a healthier lifestyle, so that means the medical bills will be fewer. Typically a member of one of these plans must agree to:
- sign a statement of faith
- agree to live by biblical principles
- abstain from the use of tobacco and the illegal use of drugs
- follow biblical teaching on the use of alcohol
- attend church regularly
I belong to a large Christian organization which provided health coverage in a form similar to this for many years in a self-funded pool of funds to pay for the medical bills of our group. It was open only to members of the group and their minor children. Recently, they put that system aside and moved to a traditional health insurance, but one that specialized in overseas coverage.
More study would be required to know if medical sharing plans are adequate coverage for the price they cost, but I like the idea of paying some kind of smaller health insurance premium in exchange for a healthy lifestyle.
I prefer not to use the 45 million number, as that is extremely misleading.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/health-million-uninsured-1850186-insurance-people
I didn’t find that link very helpful, as it seemed like a bunch of rhetoric. It is probably better to see the numbers. However, I admit the numbers are complicated:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthin06.html
Back to the main idea of the article: our semi-employed daughter is trying to figure out what to do about health insurance, if anything. She is young and healthy and works as a substitute teacher–no benefits. She’s trying to decide if she should just go without insurance until she can find a full time job with benefits. We got an advertisement in the mail about one of the above Christian medical sharing outfits, so we’re wondering if that would be a decent alternative.
Does anyone have any experience with one of these outfits or know anyone who has?
Yeah, Steyn mixes in his rhetoric, but at least he breaks the numbers down. The media and politicians use 45 million, but really, it’s like 27 million, most of whom are young and healthy. Furthermore, many of those who aren’t insured have the resources to be insured but choose not to be.
She should find some really high deductible plan, like an HSA. No reason that a young person should need the kind of health insurance that most people have (the type that pays for a common cold). What she should have is EMERGENCY insurance.
As for your question, I have no idea about those types of outfits.
An important point is that for many of those sort of groups there’s no guarantee that your medical costs will actually be covered, even if it’s for something that is supposed to be covered.
Jasen, could you explain more? You mean they don’t keep their word? Or that there is no legal guarantee? or what?
Well, for instance Samaritan Ministries says this:
“As explained in the answer to question 2, one reason Samaritan Ministries is not an insurance company is that there is no transfer of risk. This means that when a member receives medical care, there is no claim that is owed. There is simply a medical need. Samaritan members send proof of their medical expenses to the Samaritan Ministries office where they are evaluated according to the Guidelines, to make sure they qualify for publication. Then the qualified needs are published in a monthly newsletter mailing where each active member is asked to share in another member’s medical need. Again, this giving is voluntary and does not involve any legal obligation (claim) on the ministry or the other members.”
These groups don’t all work the same however. Some have problems when there’s too many medical claims in a month, and the dues can’t cover everyone. Others will decline claims that insurance will cover (the problem with that is it’s not always predictable which claims won’t be supported).
Hi:
The statement above is a disclaimer that is required by some states to fulfill an exemption in their insurance codes. So yes, there is no legal obligation or promise to pay by any of the organizations.
Samaritan ministries shares over $30 Million in medical needs each year among over 12,000 families, and the monthly share is only $285 for a family of three or more, less for couples and singles.
I have been a member of Samaritan since 1996. I have six children now and this past year my wife had a baby and then an emergency appendectomy 13 days later. Total bills for the month over $25,000.
I paid the bills in full, and was able to get a significant discount saving us and the other ministry members a few thousand dollars.
I am currently (full disclaimer) on staff at Samaritan, where I came in 1999, but whether working here or not I wouldn’t do anything else for my health care. All insurance companies in Illinois are required to pay for the morning after (so called emergency contraception) pill and I don’t want my monies being mixed with those that pay for abortion.
I know the leadership at both of the other organizations as well, and I believe them to be godly men and good organizations as well. I certainly prefer the way Samaritan works, but all three ministries are just that: ministries.
Feel free to email us for more information.
James Lansberry
Vice President
Samaritan Ministries International
Thainamu,
My parents use Samaritan Ministries, and they rave about it. (Well, my mom raves about it; my dad doesn’t talk much.) They recently ran up some steep medical bills which were completely taken care of. So add a thumbs up from this corner to James’s endorsement.
From “Who are the uninsured“:
Children are the one demographic I think there is a legitimate reason for government health insurance. Children are not deemed by the state as capable of making their own decisions, and therefore should receive some government protections against the bad decisions of others (even their parents). At this point, there are only 2 million uninsured children in the US who don’t already qualify for a program. That seems pretty good to me.
What adults chose to do about paying their own medical expenses is up to them. I tend to prefer a medical savings program, with a combination of “insurance” and loan programs to cover higher expenses. One article I read bewailed that it took one family 4 years to pay off the cost of removing a cyst from a family member’s neck. Why is this such a bad thing? Get coverage for a disaster, high deductible plans really aren’t that expensive and the benefits could be massive. Other than that, save your money and get help from those around you if you have an unexpected expense (and I say this as someone who is currently paying off debt generated by injuries my wife suffered last year before we were married). Expecting others to take care of your monthly medications is simply silly (unless you’d prefer to pay into a plan your whole life to withdraw from it when you’re old and need meds. Personally I call my plan a “401K” and will use it to pay for other expenses as well.)