Biblical Health Insurance?

In the Business & Personal Finance section of Sunday's San Diego Union-Tribune was an article titled Sharing the burden. In it, they described three "regulation-free religious groups [offering] alternatives to traditional health insurance by banning risky, high-cost behavior." The three "groups" mentioned are Samaritan Ministries, Medi-Share, and the Christian Brotherhood Ministry Newsletter.

I decided to see for myself what these groups were all about, and here's what I found, starting with Samaritan Ministries.

All three groups have a '.org' web address, so I'm assuming they are all non-profit groups, rather than for-profit. That is a good start. Samaritan Ministries seeks to "bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ" as stated in Galatians 6:2, and make it very clear that they are not providing insurance or legally agreeing to reimburse you for medical expenses and therefore are not regulated by any state agencies. They also stay away from insurance-like terms such as 'coverage', 'deductible', etc. The titles 'Samaritan Ministries' and 'Christian Health Care Newsletter' seem to be interchangable, which caused a little confusion at first. The newsletter, I guess, is their way to let subscribers know about needs and acts as the monthly bill, so to speak. Though, rather than sending their contributions to the ministry, members are assigned a specific need and send money directly to that person along with a note of encouragement and prayer. This goes along with their "Send a note--pay your share--always stay alert in prayer" mantra.

They will "publish" up to $100,000 of need per person, per incident with no lifetime or yearly limit. The first $300 of each incident is to be paid by the subscriber (or their church) up to 3 incidents per calendar year. For the fourth and all subsequent incidents per calendar year, the total need amount will be published. Preventative care, cosmetic surgery, and problems from "self-destructive actions" will not be published.

The short-list of membership requirements from the FAQ are as follows:

You must be a born-again Christian--John 3:3
You must attend church regularly (3 out of 4 weeks that your health and the weather are good)--Hebrews 10:25
You must not abuse alcohol--Ephesians 5:18
You must totally abstain from illegal drugs, tobacco use, and sex outside of heterosexual marriage--1 Corinthians 3:16
Since your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, you must practice good health measures--1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
Your pastor must sign a statement confirming you meet these requirements--Hebrews 13:17

Of course, further searching of their website reveals a slightly longer list of requirements, but it is essentially the same with the addition of their statement of faith, which you must "be in agreement with." Also, their website is, of course, decorated with the requisite testimonials throughout.

I have mixed-feelings about the operation, at best. I think the idea is great, and the price is right. As for it being a Christian ministry, I find it, well, lacking. There are many exceptions that are either not published or have strings attached. Many pre-existing conditions are not published until you have been symptom and treatment free (or "cured") for one year. No pre-existing heart conditions, cancer, or diabetes will be published at all. Congenital defects have a $25,000 lifetime maximum per condition...and the list goes on. Oh, yea...hope you're never in a car accident. All of this is to "minimize risk and cost," but does this hold up biblically?

"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."--Acts 4:34, 35

While cost cutting is never a bad thing, I would hope that as Christians, we would rely on faith rather than rebuffing any needs of our bretheren. I also take issue with the required statement from your pastor. Rather than going with Heb 13:17, I would look one more verse down:

"Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly."--Hebrews 13:18

If God can preserve the message of the Bible through centries, can He not, then watch over something like this?

I'm also not much of a fan of putting a specific number on what constitutes regular church involvement. I don't have a problem with regular attendence being a factor, but if there is any uncertainty as to whether someone meets this requirement, it should be put to a vote of the membership. One of my biggest issues (and maybe even a point of hypocracy) is that Samaritan Ministries claims to want to help you be a good steward of your money, but does not publish preventive care needs. I don't know about you, but I was always taught that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment.

Overall, great idea, bad execution. I don't think I could personally recommend it. Here are some people who do: Memlok, Hephzibah House, and this is a blog entry about Samaritan Ministries with a comment (at the bottom) from SMI's Vice President (at that time).

Tags: christian, health care, bible