I was reading through a blog on being frugal and noticed a headline for "insurance for Christians" and clicked. Interesting!! [link]
Every planet has its own weird customs. About a year before we met, I spent six weeks on a moon where the principal form of recreation was juggling geese. My hand to God. Baby geese. Goslings. They were juggled.
Wash ,'Our Mrs. Reynolds'
Natter 70: Hookers and Blow
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
javachik - Jun 12, 2012 3:26:27 pm PDT #9432 of 30001
Our wings are not tired.
Beverly - Jun 12, 2012 3:37:16 pm PDT #9433 of 30001
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
I have decided that this refers to the Jensen Ackles scene in Blonde. And that's ALL it can ever refer to
Unsurprisingly, me too.
§ ita § - Jun 12, 2012 3:37:39 pm PDT #9434 of 30001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Hmm.
a group of Christians who share medical expenses.
Basically, you pay a certain share per month. In our case, it would be under $300, which is less than half of what we pay now. Each month we would send that money to a family who has submitted medical expenses that need reimbursement. If we had a medical need, we’d submit our bill for reimbursement, and other families would send us money.
The $300 or so would only cover us up to $100,000, which isn’t much. So we’d probably opt to pay $400 more per year to be covered up to $1 million. Still, that comes out to less than $350 a month, still a big savings from what we’re paying now.
To become a member of Samaritan Ministries International, you have to be a Christian and be willing to live by some guidelines that are generally accepted by Christians (attend church regularly, don’t abuse drugs, etc.). None of the requirements would be a problem for our family.
So...where does this break down? I understand that you have to live according to good Christian mores--go to church, no drugs, etc. And no pre existing conditions
They don't cover preventative things...like preventing pregnancies? I am not yet sure.
Oh, and:
After you submit your expenses, they are processed and your need is published in the monthly newsletter, so others can pray for you. Specific members will be assigned your need and will send their monthly share to you, so you can pay your bills.
It's pretty clear it's not a national scope problem. Religiously homogeneous communities would do the best.
javachik - Jun 12, 2012 3:41:52 pm PDT #9435 of 30001
Our wings are not tired.
Yeah, ita, I just read through the site and was fascinated. I can't knock it, since it's not really my business anyway, and it seems to be working for the members? I am just surprised that I've never heard of the concept.
flea - Jun 12, 2012 3:45:50 pm PDT #9436 of 30001
information libertarian
It's basically the concept of the mutual insurance company. My car and homeowners insurance is with Amica, which is a not for profit company and sends a dividend to policyholders (assuming they don't have terrible losses in a given year). I mean, the whole, Christians only, we publish your illness and ask for prayer is a little unusual.
javachik - Jun 12, 2012 3:50:13 pm PDT #9437 of 30001
Our wings are not tired.
Yeah, it sounds a lot like a co-op/credit union scenario, right? Only with prayer and strict morality guidelines. They actually specifically say that AIDS/HIV contraction has to be through "innocent" means.
Matt the Bruins fan - Jun 12, 2012 3:50:51 pm PDT #9438 of 30001
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
So it's more or less a nonprofit insurance co-op? Pretty cool (though less so if any of its subscribers are ranting about the evils of socialized medicine while participating).
javachik - Jun 12, 2012 3:53:21 pm PDT #9439 of 30001
Our wings are not tired.
I read the website and didn't see any ranting or overt political assertions. It does point out that participation fulfills requirements for the new health care legislation requiring insurance.
flea - Jun 12, 2012 3:56:29 pm PDT #9440 of 30001
information libertarian
A major aspect of the modern insurance industry basically developed out of this kind of thing, often called "mutual aid societies" and organized around trade groups, ethnic groups, etc. (They were also a known phenomenon in ancient times; the Romans had mutual aid burial societies, for example.)
amych - Jun 12, 2012 3:57:18 pm PDT #9441 of 30001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
It's basically the concept of the mutual insurance company.
Yeah, I found it weird (and odd and sadly telling) that they're so insistent that it's NOT insurance, dammit, when that's exactly what insurance is.
It's also a really strange transmogrification of the kind of aid societies that congregations in all kinds of religions have always had - part of your dues/collections/whatever goes to the fund that pays out to members in need. Except that in that situation, it's your community that gets the deets and the prayer request, which I find a lot more comfortable, somehow. (And it's also true for non-religious communities: I can't count the number of Buffista fundraisers we've thrown over the years!) I think it's the blurring of lines that weirds me out about it: if all it takes is to sign up and pay a monthly fee, it ain't a community, it's insurance however much you disclaim the word; if it's insurance, it shouldn't also come attached with doctrinal requirements and disclosures of my own damn business.