Faith in the System

Time: Faith in the System

Three years ago, James Lansberry faced the kind of health care crisis that has become all too common in the U.S. Less than two weeks after his wife Theresa gave birth to their sixth child, she had to rush back to the hospital to have her appendix removed before it burst. Her medical bills eventually totaled more than $23,000. It would have been a stressful time for any family — but especially for those who, like the Lansberrys, do not have health insurance.

But James, the sole breadwinner for his Peoria, Ill., family, didn't lose sleep over the cost of his wife's procedure and hospital stay. The Lansberrys belong to what is called a health-sharing ministry, an organization whose Christian members pay one another's medical costs. Within a few weeks of Theresa's appendectomy, the family received checks (and get-well cards) from more than 100 people in 21 states, covering the medical costs and offering prayers for her recovery. "We didn't worry about the bills," says James. "God took care of us." (See the top 10 religion stories of 2009.)

Organized Christian health-sharing arrangements, which first cropped up in the early 1980s, have become an alternative to traditional health insurance for an estimated 100,000 Americans. The groups range from small, community-based collectives to large, multistate organizations like Samaritan Ministries International and Medi-Share, which each month direct the flow of millions of dollars from individuals to fellow members with eligible health care expenses. The bill-sharing premise is based on biblical principles in verses like Hebrews 13: 16: "Do not forget to do good and to share with others."

But there's also a significant financial appeal. Lansberry and his wife have seven children, but as Samaritan members, they pay just $320 a month in "shares," the ministry equivalent of premiums. At a time when the average monthly health-insurance cost for a family of four is slightly more than $1,500, the savings can be substantial.

Is there a catch? Yes, there are several. For starters, Samaritan and other health ministries will turn down applicants if they're too obese. (Samaritan's main rival, Medi-Share, accepts people with certain chronic health problems but only if they agree to work with a "health coach.") If accepted, members must attend church regularly — and have that attendance verified by a pastor — and abstain from tobacco use in order to maintain their status.

At Samaritan, members generally have to pay out of pocket for preventive care like wellness checkups for children and routine tests like mammograms. Other ministries pay only when a bill is more than $300 and only if it falls within guidelines voted on by the ministry's members. For members of Medi-Share, that means a second bout with breast cancer will be deemed ineligible if it occurs within 15 years of the first. Unwed women's maternity care is covered only in rape cases. …