Religious healthcare exemption

[AlP]

If you're worried about the individual mandate part of healthcare reform (having to pay for health insurance or pay a penalty), don't worry! You can become religious and get an exemption. Hooray!

Since the health-care reform bill passed last month, Lansberry has become a hot commodity on the conservative talk-radio circuit where he sings the praises of health-care-sharing ministries (HCSMs), Christian nonprofit organizations through which members agree to cover each others' health-care costs. As president of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, Lansberry, and his team of lobbyists, had persuaded Senate lawmakers to exempt alliance members from the individual mandate. That exemption, Lansberry said, made those ministries "an island of freedom amidst this terrible piece of reform legislation" and "the last pro-life option for Christians of faith."

Link
^ Disclosure: Liberal bias

[elliebean]

"the last pro-life option for Christians of faith."

Haha, christians of faith? As opposed to what, christians who support women's rights to their own reproductive systems?

I especially enjoyed this part:

Doug Phillips, president of the Christian Reconstructionist group Vision Forum.... touted Samaritan after the passage of health-care reform, calling  it a "biblical alternative to socialized health care."

given their tendency to conflate 'socialized medicine' with 'socialist takeover of government', which they equate with 'communism', 'atheism', 'stalinism', etc....

particularly when you juxtapose this:

All that believed were together, and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
      (Acts 2:44-45)

There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
      (Acts 4:34-37)

Is it possible that Marx’s famous line “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” took its inspiration directly from the New Testament? Immediately following this second passage is a very interesting story about a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who sold a piece of property but only gave the community a portion of the proceeds, keeping some of it for themselves. When Peter confronts them with this, they both fall down and die - leaving the impression (for many people) that they were struck dead.

Killing bourgeoisie land owners who fail to give all of their money to the community? That’s not merely communism, that’s Stalinism.

http://atheism.about.com/od/thebible/a/communism.htm


Hmmm....  

[Whitney]

There is also a loophole in the bill that says if you don't get health care you have to pay a fine but that the government is not allowed to enforce that fine or hold it against you....like an honor system payment of the fines....this bill sure was written sloppy.

[elliebean]

I wasn't going to pay anyway, because I have no money to pay them. But I guess that means I would get it free anyway, unless they changed that too.

[Whitney]

I wasn't going to pay anyway, because I have no money to pay them. But I guess that means I would get it free anyway, unless they changed that too.

unless you qualify for medicare or medicaid I don't think you get free health care...this isn't a healthcare for all plan like it was intended.

[Ellavemia]

The best online resource I have found for figuring out what the health care reform means to each person is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/what-health-bill-means-for-you/ According to that, if we don't earn any more money by 2014 my husband and I will now be eligible for Medicaid even though we don't have spawn. That is one nice big change from the current deal where you have to be a child, have a child, be disabled or be elderly to qualify for health care regardless of your poverty level.

[Whitney]

Thanks for the link.

According to it anyone that makes under 58,000 gross married no kids will get some tax help if their copays go over about 5 grand per yet.  Any married no kids people will not get a tax credit if they make over 58,000 gross combined.

I kept entering incomes to find the cutoff point.

I guess in 2014 I'll be paying probably have to pay over 1,000 a month for health care since it doesn't take much to realize that they insurers will just raise their costs so they can cover preexisting conditions....they really need to do something to correct this problem; without the public option there is no control mechanism.

[LARA]

So what happens if a member of one of these exempted religions gets very ill, and they then decide they want healthcare?  Can a hospital then refuse them care on the basis of their religious beliefs?  Is someone going to check to make sure they are praying instead of seeing a physician?  I believe it's the fact they refuse medical procedures that frees them from the insurance mandate.

[Whitney]

So what happens if a member of one of these exempted religions gets very ill, and they then decide they want healthcare?  Can a hospital then refuse them care on the basis of their religious beliefs?  Is someone going to check to make sure they are praying instead of seeing a physician?  I believe it's the fact they refuse medical procedures that frees them from the insurance mandate.

I would assume that seeking medical care would disqualify them from the exception.

[curiosityandthecat]

I could see why they'd want exemption... prayer-healing has worked so well recently, after all.  

[Evolved]

There are already too many health care exemptions for the religious.  You may already know that people in the US can use their religion to exempt their children from being vaccinated.  I have investigated many a vaccine-preventable illness outbreak where the index case, the responsible child, was not vaccinated due to religious exemption.

I think that if they want exemption from the current health care reform, then they should be exempt from modern health care.  Give 'em a few years with nothing but biblical-era medicine and see how long they last.

BTW, you know by looking at him that this guy is fucked up.