Sharing the burden
Regulation-free religious groups offer cost-sharing alternativesto traditional health insurance by banning risky, high-cost behavior
By Sarah Skidmore
STAFF WRITER
January 8, 2006
When Nathan and Wanda Daniel's son had oral surgery that cost thousands of dollars, they didn't have health insurance – they had faith. Soon, cards and checks arrived from across the country. The Daniels trusted it would happen. They'd done the same for others, sending money each month to near-strangers as part of a Christian medical cost-sharing organization The Daniels are members of Samaritan Ministries International, one of a handful of nonprofit companies offering a faith-based alternative to traditional health insurance. The cost-sharing organizations are the modern equivalent of passing a hat for an ill church member. Members pay a monthly share of the group's cumulative needs. In most cases, it is a fraction of traditional insurance premiums.
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The programs reduce their collective costs in part by restricting their membership to people who agree to adhere to Christian lifestyle guidelines that eschew high-risk and high-cost health behavior.
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Members cannot smoke tobacco, use illegal drugs or have extramarital sex. One group allows moderate drinking, others prohibit the use of alcohol altogether. One limits excess weight gain. People who join Christian Care Medi-Share of Melbourne, Fla., sign a document attesting that they "believe the biblical doctrine that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and therefore are to be kept pure." Applicants are screened before admission; typically their pastors are called as character reference. In addition, members must agree to continue their religious doctrine. Members who fail to follow the lifestyle guidelines or pay their share can expect to be kicked out of the group.
Because the companies are not providing insurance, they are not subject to insurance regulation, which would prohibit such restrictions. Medi-Share said it has had to dismiss only three members over 13 years and in all cases for infidelity. The program has between 55,000 and 65,000 members. No member has ever complained about the guidelines, officials of the programs say.
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Sarah Skidmore: (619) 293-1020;
[email protected]Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060108/news_lz1b8burden.html 
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