Posted on 04/12/2010 9:59:19 AM PDT by Between the Lines
-snip-
Here's how it works at Christian Healthcare: Members send in a monthly fee, resembling an insurance premium, which can range from about $50 for a single person to $450 for a family of four. That money, along with the payments from thousands of other members, is then distributed to pay sick members' medical bills.
There's no guarantee that people's bills will get paid off — that would legally turn a sharing ministry into insurance. But Howard Russell, executive director of the 29-year-old nonprofit, can't think of a time that money has run short.
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The country's three largest sharing ministries are relatively small. They cover about 100,000 people across the U.S., some 10,000 in Texas.
But they've been steadily growing in numbers and prominence — so much so that the recent federal health reform legislation has language exempting members from paying penalties most uninsured Americans will eventually have to pay.
That could make the ministries increasingly popular in coming years among Americans who distrust the insurance industry, have moral objections to insurance or see sharing as a cheaper alternative, said Seth Chandler, a University of Houston law professor specializing in health care issues.
“They can basically provide a way of people escaping the individual mandate,” Chandler said. “You could see a lot of people joining.”
There are, however, a few catches. The ministries require members to be Christian, and they check with pastors for confirmation.
There are also health care costs that can't be shared, most notably abortions or sexually transmitted diseases contracted out of marriage. Participants must also refrain from using tobacco and avoid sex outside of marriage, among other lifestyle requirements.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
I assure you; this outfit will be shut down with extreme predjudice by the NWO Elites in charge.
What a great way to involve the religious community in an extremely useful way, and at the same time distance yourself from government mandates. I really like the stipulations that are placed upon members. Nothing like a little personal responsibility to help control costs.
I’ve had friends who belonged to these types of organizations. Some are good and some are bad, I guess, because one family’s bills have consistently been paid, the other family was left holding a huge hospital bill (even after the organization had assured the hospital that the perons’s surgery would be covered by their group the organization refused coverage.)
Yeah, I have heard bad things and good things.
Honestly, it depends on which group you are a member of.
Kind of just like insurance....some screw you over and others don’t. Kind of like car lots...same deal.
Just make sure it’s a legit group etc.
Honestly, it might be a good thing to consider IN ADDITION to insurance IF it covers “leftover” costs that insurance won’t pay, say if you have a $10,000 surgery and still have to pay $2,000 out of pocket.
That would be wonderful because that $2,000 would really hurt.
I know someone with Christian Ministries. Pays $60 as the basic and co pay is around $1000 for non-basic stuff/surgery if it comes to that. The emphasis is on prayer..
oh, so it doesn’t pay all of it? Then basically is’t like insurance anyway. I thought it paid all of it.
Said Chandler, the UH law professor: “People participating in this do need to have a little concern about solvency. You’ve sort of got to be relying on God here that this scheme will work out.”
I guess Chandler never read what they print on the money. Shoosh - law professors, is there anything they don’t know?
Similar to ObamaCare, except that Obama is even less reliable.
Yikes. Remove the "even". Can JimRob add a blasphemy checker on the spell checker? :-)
FYI, ping. Something to look into.
“The emphasis is on prayer”
That’s how it can work, you die before they have to pay!
“Based on years of hospital billing and collections experience, these plans tend to be ponzi schemes.”
My wife had gall bladder operation in 1992 that went very badly. Several tests and surgeries later, she ended up at Emory Univ. hospital for reconstruction of her bile duct. Her bills totaled $55,000. Emory offered to put us on the “Doctor’s Fund” (which we later learned was the “Doctor’s Fund for the Indigent”) since we had no insurance and were a “low income” family with 4 kids.
We told them, “Thanks, but no thanks. We have Christian Brotherhood”. The last of our bills arrived in Jan 1993. These were posted in the Feb 1993 newsletter and assigned to Single members. By the end of March 1993 I had received 1,100 checks for $50 each from single members and paid off our bills in full.
Although it later went defunct (I have no idea as to the reason), Christian Brotherhood worked very well for us.
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