Opting Out Of Traditional Insurance For Faith-Based Coverage

With all the debate over health insurance the last few years, one low-cost way to pay your medical bills has been quietly expanding.

It is called Samaritans Ministries and it is founded on the faith that God and fellow man will provide.

“To have our own individual coverage would be very pricey,” said Dorothy Blaise, a Samaritan Ministries participant.

Blaise lives in the same scenario as thousands of other Americans. Her husband is self-employed and her family does not qualify for government health insurance, so her family of six found a third option that doesn't depend on Uncle Sam or private insurance companies, it is all about faith.

“As Christians we’re called to bear each other's burdens, and we just feel like this is a wonderful, practical way to be able to do that,” Blaise said.

James Lansberry heads Samaritan Ministries International, an organization that takes care of the medical bills more than $300 of 15,000 Christian families and small businesses around the country.

“You have to trust that God is going to provide for you,” Lansberry said.

Samaritan Ministries is not health insurance. It is an agreement that every member makes to pay the ministry a yearly fee of $170, and then another bill every month ranging from $135 for singles, up to $320 for a two-parent family. The monthly check does not go to Lansberry's office, it is sent directly to a family with a medical need.

“We get a check list in the mail for that month that has everybody's name on it, and how much they'll be sending us,” Blaise said.

Meanwhile the Blaise family sends their monthly check to another Samaritan Ministries member.

“We were a little bit nervous, this seemed a little out there to us from what we were used to,” Blaise said.

Blaise says the evidence that it worked came with her family’s bills. She had her first two children with traditional health insurance.

“Then the last two children we had while we've been members of Samaritans Ministries and it actually costs us less,” said Blaise.

Another example: when her oldest son broke his shoulder, that bill was more than $10,000, but the Blaises only paid the mandatory $300.

Samaritan Ministries is more than just financial support.

“With each check that comes in, there's these sweet notes of encouragement from people we'll never meet this side of heaven,” Blaise said.

Blaise is the first to admit it's a matter of faith, because while it's worked, there is absolutely no guarantee of payment.

“If something happens and we don't regulate it, then we are not of any help to someone that has been victimized,” said Commissioner Wayne Goodwin with the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Goodwin says participants need to understand those limitations.

“It may be good for some people, but for most people they want the peace of mind to know that they are getting what they paid for and that it is a legitimate organization,” Goodwin said.

It is clear that Samaritan Ministries is not health insurance, because paying bills this way includes a commitment to attend a Christian church, and signed statements vowing members don't do drugs, use tobacco, abuse alcohol or commit adultery. 

Blaise says while it is not guaranteed, it is health care reform she can agree with.

“It does require a level of faith. You know as Christians we say trust in the Lord, that means with everything, with our health and our health care system as well,” Blaise said.

If someone does not send you their promised check, it will be assigned to someone else and come the following month, but Blaise said that rarely happens.

Lansberry says there are both controls and oversight to prevent abuse, and in his 14 years with the company, members have been able to cover all bills up to $250,000.