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| Click Above To View The Medi-Share Website |
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February 10, 2011
Medi-Share is an Evangelical Christian alternative to medical insurance, and it works! Basically the whole concept is based on the Biblical Christian model of shared responsibility and brotherly love.
Medi-Share is not medical insurance. It is a sharing technique in which monthly "share" funds are transferred between participants as the needs arise. It is what some might call a "Healthshare Cooperative" between Christians. Medi-Share does not guarantee that medical bills will be paid, hence the reason why it's not medical insurance, but nevertheless medical bills do seem to get paid anyway.
The reason why I'm bringing this up is because the Evangelicals are on to something here. They've discovered a way to bring an ancient Christian concept into the modern world. Unlike the Amish, who use a similar system on a more primitive level to pay for their medical needs, this method works for people living in the modern world and in secular life. It's a novel concept that is putting Catholics to shame and it's high time I think some of us look into this seriously.
We need a Catholic version of Medi-Share.
I say a "Catholic version" because Medi-Share was designed by Evangelicals primarily for Evangelicals, as can be demonstrated by their online Statement of Faith which each new member must sign on to in order to join. On the surface it may seem there is no direct inconsistency with the tenets of this creed and the Catholic faith, but because of the way it's worded, it would give some Catholics pause for concern. That's fine though. Medi-Share can have their Evangelical Statement of Faith, because in the end I believe the Catholic Church here in the United States can build a much bigger and better system, far more robust and able to handle a much bigger pool of participants. This is why I am calling upon all of my readers to act now by doing the following.
- Briefly look over the Medi-Share website.
- Write a brief letter (no more than two short paragraphs) explaining that we need a Catholic version of this type of healthshare cooperative here in the United States, and that it needs the full backing of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Be sure to include a link to the website - http://mychristiancare.org/
- Send a copy of this letter to three key people: (1) your local bishop, (2) your parish priest and (3) the Grand Knight of your nearest Knights of Columbus council. Contact information for your local bishop can be obtained off your diocesan website. Contact information for your parish priest can usually be obtained from the phonebook or by simply visiting the parish office. Contact information for your nearest Knight of Columbus council can be obtained here.
- Send a copy of this letter to The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl A. Anderson via email using this address: info@kofc.org Be sure to type in the subject line "c/o Carl A. Anderson."
- Pray that something gets done!
4 comments; post here:
THANK YOU very much for this post!
Just out of curiosity, what in their statement of faith gives you pause? It seems much less directly anti-Catholic than most Evangelical statements of faith I've seen.
The only doctrinal problem I see is with the tenet that says salvation is through "faith alone." I realize that the Catholic-Lutheran accord has already hammered out the details of the meaning of this phrase, having come to agreement that what is meant by the phrase does not necessarily contradict Catholic doctrine when understood in a certain context. However, it is the phrase itself which will cause many Catholics pause for concern, and I couldn't blame them. The phrase has such a strong anti-Catholic history that it creates an obstacle in and of itself. If the tenet had said instead "Grace alone," I would see no problem in it, and would probably encourage Catholics to join Medi-Share in large numbers if they don't already have insurance.
I still think a much bigger and better organization can be created by Catholics, for Catholics, in the United States. This would allow the system to create it's own rules based entirely on Catholic morality and ethics. I certainly don't have any objection to working with Evangelicals on a Healthshare Cooperative, and indeed I think it would be ideal in some ways, to create a bigger Healthshare pool and work toward overcoming differences and prejudice between Evangelicals and Catholics. However, in order for that to happen, those who run the cooperative must be more sensitive to their Catholic members, and including a phrase like "faith alone," though I'm sure was done unintentionally in ignorance, is nevertheless a fatal error that will ultimately cost Medi-Share tens of thousands of new potential members.
+JMJ+
A friend, Meghan Weed, had a great suggestion. Why don't the Knights of Columbus, an already established insurance business, start a Catholic Health Care Insurance Company to counteract the current adminstration's recent actions?
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