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Defending Life

An alternative to anti-life coverage found in health insurance

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by William Beckman
HALO Advisory Committee Member
Over the last 15 years many states have passed laws requiring that health insurance fully cover contraceptives, including abortifacients like Plan B and Ella. With the passage of the Federal “Affordable Care” Act in 2010, more requirements were issued for full coverage of sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraceptives under the HHS Mandate. Health insurance policies available through the insurance exchanges in most cases are making it almost impossible to learn which policies do not cover abortion.
In this anti-life health insurance environment, are there any alternatives that provide a means to prevent your health insurance premiums from funding attacks on pre-born life?

One avenue to consider is making a switch to a healthcare sharing ministry as an alternative to health insurance. While this approach may not be a good solution for everyone, it is certainly an option to evaluate. Healthcare sharing ministries offer the benefit of not funding anti-life drugs and procedures, but also offer lower monthly expenditures for many families. Savings are achieved because these ministries only accept Christians who practice moral principles that lead to more healthy lives.

The two most prominent healthcare sharing ministries are Medi-Share (from Christian Care Ministry) and Samaritan Ministries. Details about Medi-Share can be found at http://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/. Learn more about Samaritan Ministries at http://samaritanministries.org/. Another option is Solidarity Healthshare at https://www.solidarityhealthshare.org/.

Fortunately, even the Affordable Care Act made an accommodation for healthcare sharing ministries. The Affordable Care Act contains a special provision for members of healthcare sharing ministries, making members exempt from the mandate requiring citizens to purchase insurance starting in 2014 or face financial penalties.

Unlike health insurance where you pay a premium to a company, healthcare sharing ministries each establish a community of Christians who share each other’s medical bills. Members’ share dollars are never used for unbiblical procedures or treatments like abortion or the morning after pill. Members know their share dollars are going directly to help fellow members pay eligible medical bills. Members also pray for and send notes of encouragement to each other, supported by an organization that provides health education and promotes biblical living.

Healthcare sharing ministries have a 20 year track record of success. My family has relied on Medi-Share for a number of years. Now that we qualify for Medicare, we are using Senior Assist from Medi-Share in place of other supplemental insurance options from traditional insurance companies. I know people who have relied on Samaritan Ministries and have been satisfied with them as well. A comparison of Medi-Share and Samaritan Ministries can be found at:
About the author: William Beckman is retired executive director at Illinois Right to Life Committee (IRLC) in Chicago. In that role he has covered and researched topics on a wide variety of life issues including abortion, contraception, stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, assisted suicide, euthanasia, hospice, brain death, and other end-of-life issues.

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