Kentucky Supreme Court Rules “Biblical Health Care” is a Form of Insurance

[The Straight Story]

Kentucky Supreme Court Rules “Biblical Health Care” is a Form of Insurance

Medi-Share, operated by the American Evangelistic Association and the Christian Care Ministry, can be considered a type of insurance despite its characterization of offering “affordable, biblical health care” to customers, all of whom must be Christian, ruled the Kentucky Supreme Court by a 3-2 vote.

Members of Medi-Share must commit to a Christian lifestyle, attend church and avoid practices such as smoking, taking illegal drugs and excessive drinking. But the plan does not operate like a conventional insurance company, as members pay each others’ medical bills. In this sense, it is more like a religious cooperative. Each month, members are also assigned a fellow member to pray for.

Medi-Share is not licensed to sell insurance and currently is not regulated by the state of Kentucky. However, the majority opinion pointed out that Medi-Share’s advertising calls itself an “alternative to expensive health insurance” and “member testimonials tout the monetary amount of their medical bills which were paid through Medi-Share and make claims such as ‘the medical bills would have destroyed us financially, except for Medi-
Share.’”

The court case began when the state sued Medi-Share for the unauthorized sale of insurance. Lower courts ruled that Medi-Share was not insurance, but the state Supreme Court reversed those decisions.

http://www.allgov.com/Unusual_News/ViewNews/Kentucky_Supreme_Court_Rules_Biblical_Health_Care_is_a_Form_of_Insurance_100913

[spanone]

1. not licensed to sell insurance, not regulated by the state...wtf?

yet they 'are' insurers ??

[izquierdista]

2. I could see a problem here...

What if a patient goes to see a Hindoo doctor and the treatment involves "Jewish science"?

[The Straight Story]

3. Then they will get billed as "Gentile"

:rofl:

[madrchsod]

4. so they can only go to old testament doctors.......

[Xithras]

5. I have no problems with these kinds of programs. Nobody really should.

They basically work this way: You submit your bill to the program, and they divide the bill up between all of their members. The members are all asked to contribute a certain percentage back to the central fund manager. When that percentage is received, they pay the bill for the sick person. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

It is, in essence, communism. If one member of the community gets sick and has a bill, everybody agrees to pay a certain percentage of their bill for them.

It's also not insurance, because there's no gurantee that they'll pay anything. The entire system is based on charity.

[customerserviceguy]

7. I don't have a problem with this, either

Whatever communities want to band together to provide support to each other is fine by me.

[AnArmyVeteran]

6. Just like other insurance companies they will deny people by branding them as sinners.

If someone looked like he lusted at a woman that would exclude him. So would seeing hookers and ordering porn.