***NEWS RELEASE***
For Immediate Release
March 13, 2017
CONTACT:
Jen Retallick, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215.815.7716 or 610.584.1096, ext. 102
The Winds of Change Are Blowing Through Health Care, but Samaritan Ministries’ Mission and Health Care Sharing Are Ready
PEORIA, Ill.—Every day, new headlines signal the winds of change blustering through health care. While new directions in health care seem to be on the horizon, the uncertainty among concerned Americans is palpable.
But there is one thing that is continuing, says Samaritan Ministries International (samaritanministries.org), one of the largest health care sharing ministries in America.
“Even in today’s uncertain health care landscape, Samaritan Ministries’ approach to health care sharing has the flexibility to adapt to any changes coming,” said Anthony Hopp, Samaritan’s vice president for external relations. “For more than 20 years—even during the challenges presented by the federal Affordable Care Act—Samaritan Ministries has offered our members the refreshing opportunity to apply the principles of New Testament living to 21st-century health care. Nationally, health care is changing daily, and hundreds of thousands have chosen to trust in God and the Bible’s teachings by directly sharing one another’s medical needs in this household-to-household, non-insurance approach to health care.”
Hopp added that no matter how health care policies change, the Biblical teachings reminding Christians to take care of each other have guided the faithful for thousands of years.
“Many complex issues are being discussed among legislators and policymakers,” Hopp continued, “but the straight-forward principles of health care sharing provide an uncomplicated answer. Even though the world of health care is unsettled, Christians are continuing to bear one another’s medical burdens, as the Bible instructs.”
On its Facebook page, Samaritan shared this message last week with its nearly 69,000 member households (225,000 individuals):
“Update on impact of ACA repeal/replace efforts on health care sharing ministries from our Public Policy Department: The ‘repeal and replacement’ version released on March 7 will not be the version signed into law. Regardless of what changes the House and Senate make before they vote, we are actively working toward the final legislation including language that is favorable to members of health care sharing ministries.”
Samaritan members pay a monthly share of just $495 for a family of any size, while individuals pay $220 and couples pay $440. Samaritan members also pray for one another and include notes and cards of encouragement and comfort with their monthly shares, which they send directly to other families.
Today, Samaritan members share $23 million per month in medical needs, following the Bible’s teachings to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 | ESV). Samartian members in all 50 states share one another’s needs, are exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s individual health insurance mandate and do not share in needs for unbiblical practices, such as abortion.
Learn more about Samaritan Ministries International here; visit the Samaritan website at www.samaritanministries.org, or follow the ministry on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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To interview a representative from Samaritan Ministries International, contact Jen Retallick, 610.584.1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com or Deborah Hamilton, 610.584.1096, ext. 102, or 215.815.7716.
