Christian Health Ministries

[kgmom219]

CHM and other programs are nonsectarian. To my knowledge you must be a professed Christian, affiliated with a "Protestant" church. I don't believe just anyone can participate. Part of the application process is a recommendation from your pastor.

A good friend and fellow agent is Jewish and has been intrigued by this concept. He says there are no equivalent Jewish organizations.

I think the Protestant issue is plan specific. One of the brochures I read specifically allowed Catholics. And only some of them require pastor signoff.

I wonder if you smoked in the 80s, were saved in the 90s and then got cancer in 2016, is THAT covered? Or can they say it was due to non-Christian behavior, so its not covered? Or is it pre-ex, since it was caused by "pre-plan coverage" behavior?

I'm sure there's lots of creative ways they can decline the claim.....

 

[somarco]

I haven't studied the details in a while. Wrote several blogposts @ InsureBlog over the years going back at least to 2007.

My focus was more on the financial viability and the loosey-goosey manner in which claims are funded.

There is a great deal of wiggle room in these plans when it comes to approving claims.

Of course the elephant in the room is, where do you turn when your claim is denied?

 

[AllenChicago]

CHM and other programs are nonsectarian. To my knowledge you must be a professed Christian, affiliated with a "Protestant" church. I don't believe just anyone can participate. Part of the application process is a recommendation from your pastor.

A good friend and fellow agent is Jewish and has been intrigued by this concept. He says there are no equivalent Jewish organizations.

OK. Thanks for these two pieces of information, Somarco. You'd think that Louis Farrakhan would have started a Muslim medical sharing ministry, once they saw how well the Christian versions were working..even before ObamaCare.

 

[HoosierLife]

OK. Thanks for these two pieces of information, Somarco. You'd think that Louis Farrakhan would have started a Muslim medical sharing ministry, once they saw how well the Christian versions were working..even before ObamaCare.

Don't Muslims consider insurance gambling?

 

[somarco]

I would think that Farrakhan would have called for a boycott.

Seriously, a bit surprised the ACLU hasn't become involved.

 

[fostever]

April 17, 2015

I had two highly educated (unrelated) families leave BCBS this year to join a Christian Health Ministry. They both are in the Medical field and did quite a bit of research before making that transition.

Why did the Obama administration bless Christian ministries with ACA approval, but not Muslim, Hindu, etc.. health associations?

Probably because there are NONE!

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OK, I will bite. And let me preface this by stating that we attend an Evangelical Christian Church.

Its crap. Total crap.

The companies are using the Evangelicals hatred for anything Obama to give them an option to get out of "Obamacare". And if there is a catastrophic event, they will not have coverage. But some of these people's hatred for Obama outweighs everything else. And if they hear "you won't have to have Obamacare" they will bite.

If you want to sell this as health insurance, be my guest. Not sure how you can you sleep at night or look yourself in the mirror, but have a great time when one of your clients has a catastrophic event and is turned away due to lack of insurance and cash.


No, its not a viable option to health insurance.

It's stated very clearly on these organization's websites that it is a ministry NOT insurance. CHM has been around for 35 yrs so your theory they are exploiting the Obamacare's disaster is just complete bunk. They have options to share up to 1 million by adding on "brother's keeper" so your catastrophic rant is also off the mark. The mission of these organizations is to offer Christian based sharing where the members share each other's medical needs based on their faith in a sovereign God's promise to supply needs to those who ask. You may attend a EV church and haven't grasped how far and how wide yet, keep seeking! Oh by the way, you can't sell this!

 

[Professor Leads]

Oh by the way, you can't sell this!

Yes, you can sell one of the five that are exempt from the tax penalty: http://www.insurance-forums.net/for...lth-care-sharing-ministry-program-t81836.html

And they are not all protestant based. This one will accept anyone (even a-religious folks) that agrees to the Statement of Standards and can pass medical underwriting.

 

[kgmom219]

It's stated very clearly on these organization's websites that it is a ministry NOT insurance. CHM has been around for 35 yrs so your theory they are exploiting the Obamacare's disaster is just complete bunk. They have options to share up to 1 million by adding on "brother's keeper" so your catastrophic rant is also off the mark. The mission of these organizations is to offer Christian based sharing where the members share each other's medical needs based on their faith in a sovereign God's promise to supply needs to those who ask. You may attend a EV church and haven't grasped how far and how wide yet, keep seeking! Oh by the way, you can't sell this!

Taking this step by step (although, since I'm a woman, you probably have no respect for me or my posts, since I should be a SAHM, otherwise I am not doing what God wants women to do)

1. You are correct, the brochures do plainly state that a CHM is not insurance. However, in 25 years in the industry, I have found that the average consumer does not understand the difference and what a DOI brings to the table.
2a. A $1 Million cap is CRAP. Pure, unadulterated CRAP. A transplant requires $2 million left on a cap. THAT'S why in January 2014, HCSC paid for more transplants in one month, than in the previous 24 months COMBINED. These were people who had their own donor, in many cases a parent donating a kidney or a partial liver to a child. Hmmm.... based on the logic of "ask and you will receive", I wonder how many of them had prayed for an organ???? Transplants are not available under a CHM plan.
2b. $1 Million is nothing when it comes to cancer treatment.
2c. What about Cystic Fibrosis? Multiple Sclerosis? Lupus? Are you so naive that you think a million is enough?

How does a CHM, since most require living a "Godly life" and someone on earth has chosen to interpret that, cover a diagnosis that came from "un-Godly" life. (BTW, does that mean everyone in town has to be around to stone me in the square for wearing 2 different types of garments? Do you watch football? Those guys are touching a dead pigs skin. Leviticus 19 NIV.)

Going further with the requirement of living a Christian life, please explain the coverage in the following situations:

1. The info specifically excludes smokers. What does a CHM do when a Non-Smoker gets lung cancer? Approximately 20% of lung cancer deaths each year are attributed to non-smokers. Why Non-smokers Sometimes Get Lung Cancer
2. What about cervical cancer? Christians are commanded to maintain their virginity until the marriage bed. (Hebrews 13:4) What happens if a Christian woman is raped and gets HPV? 99% of Cervical Cancers are caused by HPV. Will the CHM cover the cancer treatment, when it clearly came from an STD? Does the woman have to sit in judgement with a CHM board and relive the rape to get chemotherapy? HPV and Cancer - National Cancer Institute
3. If you were an alcoholic in your 20's and came to the Lord in your 30's, is cirrhosis covered?


Are the CHM members specifically told which Tier 1 (Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Childrens, Cedars Sinai, UTSW, MD Andersonm etc) centers will not accept a CHM for guarantee of payment? If not, IMO, that's criminally negligent.

And you might need to review Matthew again. Specifically, Matthew 7:1-5

Also, feel free to PM with your name and address. If you are anywhere near Dallas, I would be happy to look you in the eye and tell you what a POS CHM plans and how they are NOT covering Christians in the worst case scenarios. Which is really what insurance should be about.
1 Timothy 5:8


(For a consumer reading this after googling Christian Health Ministries, I hope you will ask the person who is selling a CHM these questions. These are very real concerns.)

 

[FLM2]

Yes, you can sell one of the five that are exempt from the tax penalty: http://www.insurance-forums.net/for...lth-care-sharing-ministry-program-t81836.html

And they are not all protestant based. This one will accept anyone (even a-religious folks) that agrees to the Statement of Standards and can pass medical underwriting.

I read through the material on that site and can't even BEGIN to describe how disgusted I am with this program, not the least of which is that anyone can offer it whether licensed or not.

So this is what our country has come to-people being scammed into buying something they think will cover them for catastrophic illness all in the name of a religious affiliation or philosophy because healthcare reform has pushed them away because of high premiums.

Unscrupulous agents and non-agents will fill the rolls of this program because all they will see is dollar signs, when someone has a big medical bill that doesn't get paid they will claim it is out of their control.

KGMom did such a thorough job of repudiating these programs I won't take the time to repeat them but all I will say is that, as a professional insurance agent, I am appalled.

 

[tonyisme]

Thank you for revealing the truth about this organization. So some of my Christian Brothers have signed up for it. we have not and still paying Blue Cross.
And all the organ transplants cases we have seen the provider demands insurance. Or they want a substantial amount of money up front.