Medi-Share, operated by the American Evangelistic Association and the Christian Care Ministry, can be considered a type of insurance despite its characterization of offering “affordable, biblical health care” to customers, all of whom must be Christian, ruled the Kentucky Supreme Court by a 5-2 vote.

 

Members of Medi-Share must commit to a Christian lifestyle, attend church and avoid practices such as smoking, taking illegal drugs and excessive drinking. But the plan does not operate like a conventional insurance company, as members pay each others’ medical bills. In this sense, it is more like a religious cooperative. Each month, members are also assigned a fellow member to pray for.

 

Medi-Share is not licensed to sell insurance and currently is not regulated by the state of Kentucky. However, the majority opinion pointed out that Medi-Share’s advertising calls itself an “alternative to expensive health insurance” and “member testimonials tout the monetary amount of their medical bills which were paid through Medi-Share and make claims

such as ‘the medical bills would have destroyed us financially, except for Medi-

Share.’”

 

The court case began when the state sued Medi-Share for the unauthorized sale of insurance. Lower courts ruled that Medi-Share was not insurance, but the state Supreme Court reversed those decisions.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

'Biblical Health Care' Is Insurance, Court Rules (by Jeff Gorman, Courthouse News Service)

Kentucky v. E. John Reinhold (Kentucky Supreme Court) (pdf)