http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?verified=true&storyId=124544505#commentBlock
Terrific article about how Christian groups are doing health insurance outside of the jurisdiction of the state. And everything is contractless… because the government won’t allow contracts due to the intervention and mandates.
"As policymakers in Washington, D.C., debate overhauling health care, several evangelical Christian groups have found a way of getting around the high cost of health insurance. Instead of paying premiums, they simply agree to pay each other’s medical bills.
The groups are not regulated because unlike insurance there’s no guarantee an individual’s bills will be paid. That’s something members take on faith."
"James Lansberry, the vice president ofSamaritan Ministries, says the concept is simple. First there’s a $170 annual fee to cover Samaritan’s administrative costs. His nonprofit group then compiles members’ health care bills and tells its 14,000 households where to send their monthly checks.
“The money doesn’t get received at our central office — it goes directly from one family to another,” Lansberry says. “So each month I send my monthly share of $285 directly to another family.”
That’s all it costs for Lansberry, his wife and their seven children to be in the program. That’s a fraction of what a typical health insurance policy would cost."
Discussion here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Anarchism/comments/bd9c5/christian_groups_set_up_unregulated_insurance/