Wellness Wednesday: The Christian Alternative to Health Insurance

The 2,000 page Obamacare behemoth includes lots of little interesting tidbits. One of the lesser-known ones is that people who enroll in a faith-based medical co-op are exempt from the mandate to purchase insurance.

Health care sharing ministries have been around for quite some time, but when word of the exemption starts to spread, they may end up becoming a lot more popular. The premise is that the members pay for each others care, whether directly to the person in need, or into a fund that is managed by the ministry. Some pay as needed, others pay a monthly fee.

Requirements vary based on the group, but generally the members must attend church regularly (with proof signed by a pastor), and vow to practice the tenets of the religion (most of these are Christian-based ministries). The groups can be small local affairs, or large organizations that cross state or even country borders.

The benefits can be huge. Patients have talked of massive bills being taken care of with not a single issue. Avoiding the bureaucratic entanglements and hoop-jumping that some insurance companies are known for is another. Members are able to directly negotiate prices with providers, and may receive discounts for paying with cash.

The downfalls are that not every group may be prepared or skilled enough to negotiate and the danger for misuse of funds seems high, even for a religious group. Though the ministries have to meet with very specific guidelines for their members to be exempted from the insurance mandate (for example, the co-op must have been in existence at least ten years, and must undergo annual audits), once word gets out that an alternative is available, people may start flocking to them.

And that is where the real danger comes in. While more members in a co-op means more available money, it also means more people trying to get a piece of that pie. A signature saying you went to church can be forged.

When you don't pay your insurance premiums, you lose coverage. Would a group of people operating out of the goodness of their hearts be able to make such a firm stand? What if multiple members become catastrophically ill? Would the funds have to be divided? Would a tough decision have to be made for who received the assistance?

All hypothetical questions to be sure. The MSNBC article paints a very rosy picture, but that's under the current standard. The bigger something gets, the more likely wolves are to hide amongst the lambs.