Christian Co-ops Swap Burden of Medical Bills

I am not sure about these organizations being little known — I think they are widely advertised in the Christian community. Many people have used them with great success.

If this “loophole” in Obamacare stands, there may be boomtown ahead for organizations like Samaritan Ministries.

(Hopefully, the country will elect some principled people who will repeal the whole mess and move the needle back toward freedom and market-based solutions instead. :cry: )

I think the author meant “little known” to the general public. I didn’t know about it until I was enrolled by the church I pastor. I would NEVER enroll in one again after the way I was treated by one of the “ministries” named in the article.

In the current climate of distrust for everything corporate or civic, I’m sure many people will be looking at these and other loopholes. Men with good intentions and men with bad intentions will take advantage of this climate, and when they do, many Christians could fall prey to their intentions.

I have personal knowledge of only one such “sharing ministry,” which is not among those listed here. This particular cooperative was popular among a band of Fundamental Baptists a decade or two ago. Fortunately its damage was limited, but several renowned churches and institutions (along with their respective officers) very nearly came to financial ruin. As I understand it, most of the participants were able to gracefully exit the cooperative except for the sponsor, which happened to be a church. The last I knew, that church was still saddled with a large debt created by the program. I have heard of other cooperatives, and the reviews have only been mixed at best.

I’m skeptical of the health care industry and government reforms, but I’m also skeptical of people and organizations that try to fly under the radar of accountability. Treat these “ministries” and other loopholes with caution.

Note that these are NOT insurance plans or insurance companies. This is an important point for anyone involved or planning to be involved in one of these. You will be viewed by the insurance companies as having had no coverage while enrolled in one of these type organizations. This could have devastating consequences in some states if you try to get insurance later. For example, pre-existing conditions will be excluded from coverage if you have not had continuous coverage for the prior 12 months. I believe this applies nationwide, but check with your insurance company or state department of insurance for verification. However, I am not sure how Obamacare will affect this, but I would still proceed with extreme caution.

[rogercarlson] I didn’t know about it until I was enrolled by the church I pastor. I would NEVER enroll in one again after the way I was treated by one of the “ministries” named in the article.

I, too, was treated poorly by one of these types of outfits (in all fairness, I can’t remember the name of that particular group, just that it was this co-op type of idea). In my first ministry after college, the president of the ministry dropped our health insurance (without even asking us) and signed us up in a co-op. Well, three of the young married women in the ministry became pregnant all at the same time…my wife was one of them. Not one penny of any of our bills was paid and very little, if any, was paid on the other couples’. My credit rating was in the basement for quite some time after that, even though I made arrangements and paid off the hospital bills.
VERY skeptical is a good way to put it when dealing with this type of arrangement.