Collateral Health Care Damage

By Joseph Lawler in the American Spectator

Perhaps no group is happier to see Obama's health care reform stumble and face delay than health care sharing ministries (HCSMs), whose health care system faced ruin under reform.

HCSMs work well. All members contribute the same amount. To take care of people with pre-existing conditions they simply collect what members are willing to contribute. Often the HCSMs are able to negotiate lower fees from doctors because they pay cash quickly, without having to go through red tape. They allow members to keep clear consciences, and offer a sense of community that cannot be duplicated.

HCSMs would flourish if they didn't compete with overregulation and tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance. Those problems could easily be alleviated, but they won't be. Instead, over the next few years the government will enact a reform that's bad for all Americans, but especially for those who simply want to share each other's health care costs.

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