Why Desperate Families Are Getting Religion on Health Coverage
POLITICO Magazine’s Paul Demko and Renuka Rayasam report that more than 1.1 million people are enrolled in faith-based, health-sharing ministries, according to the nonprofits that offer the alternative to health-care insurance. Ministry plans were originally exempted from the ACA’s individual mandate penalty and can be cheaper alternatives to health insurance plans, but they do not provide the same legal and medical protections. Demko and Rayasam write, “Insurance experts also worry that consumers don’t realize there’s no guarantee that their medical bills will be covered, or that there’s no prohibition against discriminating against individuals because of pre-existing conditions, a bedrock protection of Obamacare.”