Today I found out about another free clinic where a group of Christians, without government funding, are providing charitable health care for the poor.  The clinic doesn’t bill Medicaid for any services, and provides health care for local residents up to twice the Medicaid threshold.  You won’t be seeing anything about this on the news anytime soon, but there are options out there for the uninsured, and Christians are already out there doing the work of ministry for people around them!  I’d like to see this type of clinic in every major city in the USA–it’s time for the Church to take back charity, and to do it with our own dollars.

WORLD Magazine | CrossOver appeal | Emily Belz | Sep 26, 09
CrossOver gives the uninsured regular check-ups to keep them on medications for chronic illnesses, and that protects against more costly medical services down the road. “It costs pennies to save hundreds of dollars,” says Steve Lindsey, a former administrator at a local hospital who is now on the CrossOver board. CrossOver makes use of philanthropy from hospitals, backed up by charitable donations and a host of volunteers, to provide first-class care for free.

Find the CrossOver web site here.

I was reading at Christianity Today about the insurance crisis in churches. There were a few comments that mentioned health care sharing ministries, but sadly the article does not.

“It’s really a crisis,” NAE president Leith Anderson said. “If things stay as they are, there is going to be a significant loss of pastors from the ministry.”

Many denominations, like the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), formerly offered health insurance benefits to their pastors, but ceased when insurance costs increased. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, health premiums increased 78 percent between 2001 and 2007.

For Christians, there are alternatives. But we’ve become very accustomed to the “guarantees” of insurance. And become insulated from our health care costs. And because of that insulation, the thought of going by faith, and joining with a community of believers in a health care sharing ministry, is not even considered by many of these denominations.

These rising costs are a problem, yes, but they are not the only story. And many people have found a more affordable option with one of our member ministries—and have seen health care solutions that are ministry based, rather than profit based. And a solution that balances faith, liberty and charity.

Agency expects more to appeal healthcare fee – The Boston Globe
The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority set aside $3.3 million – nearly 10 percent of its $39 million fiscal 2009 budget, which it finalized yesterday – for the 8,000 appeals the board expects to process. In the year that ended June 30, there were an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 appeals, the board said.

This is the problem with not approaching health care with liberty, charity and faith in balance.  It leaves to forcing people into a particular system, which leads to punishing them for not doing it “right”.  The article goes on to say that the requirements for what is “legitimate” insurance will get harder next year as well, raising the cost even higher, thus raising the stakes for those who would like to try to afford what they say.

Thankfully, health care sharing ministry members have, at present, been granted a regulatory status that fulfulls the intent of the mandate–allowing our members to continue to practice their faith in Massachusetts.  At least for now.

Does your healthcare plan fund abortion? OneNewsNow.com
“Forty-six percent of workers today in employer-based health insurance finance abortion. I think this is critical. Many of you know people who consider themselves very good, solid citizens [and] who consider themselves pro-life. They go to church on Sunday; but on Monday morning, they finance abortion. They dont know they finance abortion, they do not conscientiously do it — but they do do it. And they do it through private health insurance. They do it because the plan covers it,” Moffitt pointed out.

This is a good article from OneNewsNow, but they don’t mention that there is already an alternative for people who want to be certain that they’re not funding abortions with their health care dollars.  Health care sharing ministries.

Womenstake: Faith, Hope, and Charity in Health Care – Not Exactly What You Might Think
Even for those who fit this description, there is another major problem with faithcares – they are NOT health insurance plans, so they are pretty much unregulated.

As I wrote here, regulation is a big issue for those who oppose, object to, or have concerns with health care sharing ministries. The link above is to a blog for a “women’s advocacy” group who are committed to protecting legal abortion. They raise concerns about health care sharing ministries (calling them “faithcares”) but this is their biggest concern.

Regulations often create a false sense of security. The problems with the organization referenced happened in clear violation of regulations that already exist. But that didn’t stop the abuses from happening. (Side note: that same organization referenced came under new management and directorship, volunteered for a state receivership, and is now working well and the state has moved away, leaving the organization with its blessing)

Christians choose to join health care sharing ministries often because they are not insurance companies. And so they are freed from other state regulations that some people may find morally objectionable. Some states require insurance companies to pay for reproductive choices, like birth control or so-called “emergency contraception.” Pro-life members don’t want to help fund those procedures and pharmaceuticals through their insurance dollars, and so this gives them a choice that is consistent with their faith. This is a crucial part of why we do what we do.

Health Net sued for insurance cancellations – East Bay Business Times:

In a suit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the City Attorney accuses Health Net NYSE: HNT of using “misleading information” to gain members in the individual market and then using the information against them to delay coverage.

One of the largest accusations leveled against health care sharing ministries by our critics (e.g. the Washington Post article linked to in my profile) is that we are unsafe because we are unregulated by government agencies.

Our response is that regulated insurance has proven to be fraught with its own problems (see the article linked to above), including fraud.   Our regulation is done by our self-policing.  Our member ministries have boards of directors controlled by those who have no financial interest in the ministry.  They oversee the financial ends.

We are also bound (as charitable organizations) by charitable controls, including following particular procedures for setting the salaries of ministry officers.  The salaries paid to executives in many regulated insurance companies are very large, set by stockholder represented boards.  Our officers are paid salaries that are in line with non-profits.

Insurance companies are free to pay their executives whatever they desire, but the articles above and other stories like it show that government regulation does not ensure safety.  And it never will.  The consumer of the service needs to carefully examine what he is getting involved with, whether it be health insurance or a health care sharing ministry.

Our member ministries are very careful to explain to potential members what they’re choosing is very different than insurance, and that it is faith based and has no guarantees.  Our members are excited about choosing a health care solution that is grounded in faith, and that brings instead a community of others committed to loving one another in tangible ways:  serving the emotional and spiritual needs as well as the financial.

“Liberty is an acknowledgement of faith in God and his works.” – Frederic Bastiat

 
Faith, liberty and charity intersect as we approach health care policy and practice.  This is because the three intersect in general.  Bastiat, a French writer in the mid-1800s, understood this.  Liberty, rightly understood, he tells us, means acknowledging faith in God and God’s works.

God is the source of liberty.  And so liberty begins with faith, and faith leads to charity.   We’ll have more to say about how this interaction works at the practical level over the next few weeks.