Under the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, all Americans must have health insurance or risk paying a fine. But there are exemptions, and one of those is for people who belong to something called “healthcare sharing ministries.”
Members of these sharing ministries, which have more than 500,000 members around the country, help cover one another’s medical costs as they arise. Twenty-nine states have strong legal protections for the groups.
Some ministries require monthly payments to a centralized administrator, who then pays out to needy members, while others ask members to send their monthly payments directly to those in need, and often they do so with prayers attached.
The ministries don’t provide guarantees and preventive care is not included, but members say the advantages of being in a caring community outweigh the risks.
Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with James Lansberry, executive vice president of Samaritan Ministries International, a key health care group.
Guest
- James Lansberry, executive vice president of Samaritan Ministries International. He tweets @jameslansberry.
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