Christian Care Ministry

Last updated
Christian Care Ministry, Inc.
Founded1993
FounderJohn Reinhold
TypeNon-Profit Christian Ministry
Focus Christianity, Healthcare, Wellness (alternative medicine)
Location
OriginsActs 2:42-47
Area served
United States, with specific disclosures for IL, KS, KY, ME, MD, MO, PA, TX, WI, MT
ServicesMedi-Share, Manna
Method Health Coaching, Mission (Christianity), Prayer
Members
c. 300,000+
Key people
Interim Chief Executive Officer & Chief Operating Officer, Brandon Harvath, Chief Financial Officer, Mark Joos, Chief People Officer, Tony Webster, Chief Technology Officer, Thomas Sanders
Employees
700+
Website http://www.mychristiancare.org
US Navy 110831-N-UT935-575 Civilians and Sailors assigned to the John C. Stennis Space Center load nearly a ton of food.jpg

Christian Care Ministry is a nonprofit organization based in Melbourne, Florida. [1] It was founded by Dr. E John Reinhold in 1993, as a division of the American Evangelistic Association (AEA), with the goal of providing what it calls "biblical healthcare solutions" for Christians. [2] Medi-Share's affordable healthcare plan is exempt from the mandate to purchase health insurance under the Individual Mandate of the Affordable Care Act. [3] With a program membership population of 317,576 (as of October 2017), Christian Care Ministry currently operates in all US states. [4] Since 1993, members of the organization have shared and discounted medical expenses amounting to more than $2.1 billion. [5] The common thread running through all of Christian Care Ministry's programs is the emphasis on a "healthy Biblical lifestyle". Christian Care Ministry is recognized by the American Heart Association as a Gold Level Fit-Friendly Company. [6] Along with Samaritan Ministries and Christian Healthcare Ministries, Christian Care Ministry represents one of the three largest Christian healthcare sharing ministries in the U.S. [7]

Contents

History

Christian Care Ministry was formed in 1993 when E. John Reinhold, a member of the AEA, decided to formalize the casual medical bill sharing process that existed among some of the association's members. Working in his garage and home, Dr. Reinhold established guidelines for the sharing of members’ medical bills. That same year, he moved his family to Melbourne, Florida, where Christian Care Ministry is still based today. [8]

Healthcare bill-sharing program

In order to participate in Christian Care Ministry's bill sharing program, members must be Christians who ascribe to the company's Statement of Faith and are active members of a church community.[ citation needed ]

Medi-Share

Medi-Share is the main focus of Christian Care Ministry, and has been the primary service of Christian Care Ministry since 1993. It is a Christian healthcare system of medical bill sharing. However, Medi-Share is not insurance, and not all medical conditions are eligible for sharing. [9] Participants pay an AHP (Annual Household Portion) toward their own medical costs; expenses beyond this are eligible for sharing among the ministry's membership. As of 2005, Medi-Share has grown to more than 60,000 members who share millions of dollars annually to pay one another's medical bills. [10]

Eligibility

Medi-Share allows members to help each other with medical bills, with the goal of providing a true example of Christian healthcare. However, Medi-Share is not insurance and does not guarantee that the medical costs of its members will be shared. Certain conditions are excluded, particularly those that arise from a lifestyle that does not meet the guidelines of the organization, such as drug or alcohol abuse, or extramarital sex. [11] Many members find that Medi-Share helps them meet their family healthcare needs at a significantly lower cost than health insurance. [12]

Legality

In 2002, Christian Care's Medi-Share bill-sharing program was challenged by some states’ insurance regulators due to its status as a Christian healthcare organization. [13] 43 states have inquired about the legality of the program, and in some cases legal action was taken. [14] A series of court cases in Kentucky resulted from the specific way in which Medi-Share processed members’ shares and disbursed payments. [15] Changes have since been made to the Medi-Share system to bring it into line with state regulations and to maintain the organization's non-insurance status. As of June 25, 2013, the court ruled that Medi-Share was allowed to operate in Kentucky. [16] Medi-Share operates legally in 50 states with state disclosures specific to Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. [17]

Exemption from the Affordable Care Act Mandate

Medi-Share program membership numbers have seen an increase which may be related to the Individual Mandate of the Affordable Care Act, which initially required that all individuals in the U.S. have health insurance by 2014 or face tax penalties. This mandate has been since repealed federally, although it still stands in some states that have their own state healthcare exchange. [18] Medi-Share members, like those of other healthcare sharing organizations, are exempt from the Individual Mandate and are not required to purchase health insurance. [19] When healthcare reform was up for debate in 2010, public interest in faith based bill sharing programs like Medi-Share grew by 150 percent. [20] Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act Medi-Share membership rates have risen. Prior to passage of the ACA, annual membership grew at a rate of 10 percent per year. [21] Since the bill's passage, Medi-Share membership is up 15 percent per year. [22]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicaid</span> United States social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources

In the United States, Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for 85 million individuals with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by state governments, which also have wide latitude in determining eligibility and benefits, but the federal government sets baseline standards for state Medicaid programs and provides a significant portion of their funding.

Health insurance or medical insurance is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among many individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health risk and health system expenses over the risk pool, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to provide the money to pay for the health care benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization, such as a government agency, private business, or not-for-profit entity.

The term managed care or managed healthcare is used in the United States to describe a group of activities intended to reduce the cost of providing health care and providing American health insurance while improving the quality of that care. It has become the predominant system of delivering and receiving American health care since its implementation in the early 1980s, and has been largely unaffected by the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

...intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as Health Maintenance Organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts health care reform</span>

The Massachusetts health care reform, commonly referred to as Romneycare, was a healthcare reform law passed in 2006 and signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney with the aim of providing health insurance to nearly all of the residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Health insurance in the United States is any program that helps pay for medical expenses, whether through privately purchased insurance, social insurance, or a social welfare program funded by the government. Synonyms for this usage include "health coverage", "health care coverage", and "health benefits". In a more technical sense, the term "health insurance" is used to describe any form of insurance providing protection against the costs of medical services. This usage includes both private insurance programs and social insurance programs such as Medicare, which pools resources and spreads the financial risk associated with major medical expenses across the entire population to protect everyone, as well as social welfare programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which both provide assistance to people who cannot afford health coverage.

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Healthcare reform in the United States has a long history. Reforms have often been proposed but have rarely been accomplished. In 2010, landmark reform was passed through two federal statutes: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which amended the PPACA and became law on March 30, 2010.

In the United States, health insurance marketplaces, also called health exchanges, are organizations in each state through which people can purchase health insurance. People can purchase health insurance that complies with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at ACA health exchanges, where they can choose from a range of government-regulated and standardized health care plans offered by the insurers participating in the exchange.

A health insurance mandate is either an employer or individual mandate to obtain private health insurance instead of a national health insurance plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affordable Care Act</span> U.S. federal statute also known as Obamacare

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairness for American Families Act</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save American Workers Act of 2013</span>

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Form 1095 is a collection of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms in the United States which are used to determine whether an individual is required to pay the individual shared responsibility provision. Individuals can also use the health insurance information contained in the form/forms to help them fill out their tax returns. The individual forms are Form 1095-A "A Health Insurance Marketplace Statement", Form 1095-B "Health Coverage", and Form 1095-C "Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage". Individuals may receive one or multiple versions of Form 1095.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Health Care Act of 2017</span> Proposed U.S. law

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Order 13813</span>

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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often shortened to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or nicknamed Obamacare, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Once the law was signed, provisions began taking effect, in a process that continued for years. Some provisions never took effect, while others were deferred for various periods.

References

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  4. "Disclosures". My Christian Care.
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  6. "Fit Friendly Companies Gold Award Recognition" (PDF). Start Walking Now. American Heart Association. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  7. Metcalf, Nancy. "Should we sign up for a 'health-care sharing ministry'?". Consumer Reports News. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  8. "Helping One Another: 15 Years of Sharing and Caring" (PDF). My Christian Care. Oct 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  9. Sutherly, Ben (February 18, 2013). "Ministries step in for health-care coverage for uninsured". The Columbus Dispatch.
  10. Boodman, Sandra (25 October 2005). "Seeking Divine Protection". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
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  12. Griffith, Wendy. "Medi-Share: A Bible-based Health Care Option". CBN News. The Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
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