A Workable Health Care Plan

My previous post WHAT'S THE UPROAR has provided some dialogue on the ongoing debate over a national health care plan. I had some comments all against what I posted. However no one offered a solution to the health crisis in America without me first asking them what do they suggest as a solution? The solutions they offered once I asked are not workable solutions in my mind.

I still think a national health care plan is a workable solution to the health care crisis. However let me suggest a Biblical solution to health care costs.

I do not have health insurance. I belong to Christian Healthcare Ministries a faith-based alternative to health insurance. In the past 15 years members of CHM have shared more than $450 million in medical bills. It works like this. Members send a monthly financial gift to the CHM office. Members monthly gifts for gold level is $150.00; silver level is $85.00; bronze level is $45.00. The gifts are then used to meet participants medical bills.

You asked does CHM work? This past spring I had to have 35 radiation treatments for a recurrence of prostate cancer. The bill was over $60,000.00. I told the medical providers I was self pay. When the bills started coming in I begin negotiating with the medical providers as a self pay patient. I was able to get the medical providers to reduce the total bill to around $30,000.00. I then submitted my bill to CHM and they paid all but $500.00, the $500.00 was my gold level deductible. Yes,CHM works!

CHM carries out the command of Galatians 6:2: "Carry each others burdens, and in this way you fulfill the law of Christ." This is the foundation upon which CHM is built. Together, thousands of CHM members support each other in the critical life need of meeting health care costs.

Advantages of CHM:
-No application fee
-No annual fee
-No waiting period for accidents
-Maternity program
-Chose your own health care providers
-No physical required
-No one is dropped because of medical conditions
-The confidence and joy that comes from knowing you are providing for your own health care needs as you also help fellow Christians.
-CHM members pray for one another.

Qualifications for joining are simple:
-be Christians living by Biblical principles
-abstain from the use of tobacco and the use of illegal drugs.
-follow biblical teachings on the use of alcohol
-attend group worship regularly if health permits.

Do some research and you will find CHM was featured August 12, 2009 on the CNN Situation Room. CNN went on the road with the health care debate and CHM was one of their features.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone in America would join CHM? We know they will not and that is why I favor a national health care plan. But for me and possibly for you CHM works. If you would like to have more information about joining CHM send me an email.

What's the Uproar!

This post is meant to bring about a dialogue. Seriously I would hope you would leave comments and help me work through my thoughts.

Our country is seriously considering a national health care policy. It seems that it has come down to a liberal vs. conservative debate, which frankly I think is ridiculous. Politics should not be involved when it comes to our health and getting proper medical care. I am having a hard time understanding why the conservatives of America are in such an uproar over national health care.

I think we would all agree that the cost of health care in America is staggering. I recently had thirty-six radiation treatments for a recurrence of prostate cancer and the bill was around $65,000.00. For many just paying the health insurance monthly premium is a struggle. It is also without question that there are a lot of Americans who do not have proper health care because they cannot afford it. Something has to be done in America to solve the health care costs dilemma we all face.

One of the things that seems to fuel the uproar is fear. For some reason the conservatives in America fear what happens when the government takes over health care. On this point I refer them to the government run Medicaid program. We are raising a grandson, who was born cleft lip and cleft palate. When he was born to our daughter, a single mom, he qualified for Medicaid. Our grandson is ten years old now. Medicaid has been fantastic! He has had the best of medical care with doctors of our choice and neither we nor his mom have ever had to pay a cent. If the proposed national health care is run like Medicaid I see no reason to fear.

Another argument about the fear factor. When a person reaches the age of 65 they automatically go on Medicare, a government run health program. I have yet to hear one senior complain about the health care they receive through Medicare.

The second argument I hear is it will cost too much. The cost is projected to be $1 trillion over a 10 year span. A lot of money I agree. But the projected costs for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is projected to be $2.4 trillion over 10 years. I don’t hear conservatives saying the wars cost too much. To be honest I never thought we should have gone into Iraq to start with and it appears Afghanistan is headed toward another Vietnam. The war thing will wait for another post.

Another argument I hear is that people illegally in the country will be able to get national health care. I say “what’s the big deal about that”? Shouldn’t we as followers of Jesus Christ want every person to be cared for body, soul, and spirit?

Another argument I hear is they are going to pay for national health insurance by cutting Medicare benefits. The cry is this will hurt the senior aged population. Come on now let’s get real. Do you think for one minute the congress and president is going to do something that would be political suicide. The age 65+ voting block is powerful. You go cutting their benefits and come next election you will be voted out. I don’t think the congress and president are that stupid.

For me the real uproar is from doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and health insurance companies who know they will not be able to keep getting rich and richer at the expense of we average Americans if national health care is passed. They are smart enough to realize the conservatives of America are against national health care so they are feeding them with the fear factor, cost factor, and illegal status factor to keep them whipped up into a frenzy opposing so they can continue to get rich and richer.

What is the uproar? When I was a boy growing up I heard the same uproar from conservatives about civil rights? The conservatives were wrong on civil rights! I sensed the same fear over the first ever Catholic president. John F. Kennedy although he didn’t get to serve long didn’t seem to do worse/better than other presidents of my lifetime. What is the uproar? I would love to have dialogue with you, leave your comments.