Independence Day Reminds Us of the Price America’s Founders Paid to Secure Our God-given Rights
June 29, 2021
PEORIA, Ill. — This Fourth of July, members of Samaritan Ministries International (www.samaritanministries.org) celebrate the freedoms protected by our Constitution, including the freedom to make our own health care decisions and not be forced to support health care practices that violate our religious freedom.
America’s Declaration of Independence says that we have certain unalienable rights that are endowed by our Creator, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our founders stated that our rights come from God, and they fought to secure those rights.
Their commitment to freedom was further codified when the original 13 states established the U.S. Constitution and approved the Bill of Rights, and it has undergirded our approach to government ever since.
Today, we can see evidence of this approach even in health care, where the citizens of England, our mother country, and Canada, our British Commonwealth neighbor to the north, are restricted to government-controlled, single-payer health care systems.
“Freedom is a central, founding value of our nation and of our ministry,” said Samaritan Ministries International founder and President Ted Pittenger. “True freedom extends even to being able to choose the health care we believe is best for ourselves and our families.
“It also means not being forced to pay for practices that violate Bible-based faith, such as abortions, abortifacients or sex reassignment surgeries,” he continued. “Founding father Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, also wrote: ‘To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.’
“Samaritan Ministries facilitates a Christian community response to health care needs. We take very seriously 2 Corinthians 3:17: ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’ The freedom found in Jesus Christ is foundational to Bible-driven faith,” Pittenger said.
Unlike marketplace insurance, Samaritan Ministries has no limited enrollment period. Health insurance restricts signups to only during open enrollment periods, unless one qualifies for a Special Enrollment Period due to a “life event,” such as losing other coverage, getting married, moving or having a baby.
Samaritan Ministries also has no network restrictions:
- Many marketplace health insurance policies restrict patients to a particular group of physicians called a network.
- When medical care is needed, Samaritan members choose the health care provider, hospital, and pharmacy that work best for them.
Samaritan often hears from grateful members who share their experiences:
Here’s a note from Bob and Tina, who live in Kentucky:
“Wow … Samaritan Ministries is the feet and hands of Jesus. Amazing people.”
And another from Ronnie, who hails from Texas:
“It is a pleasure to share other believers’ needs instead of paying expensive premiums to health insurance companies.”
John and Jacqueline reside in Washington state:
“I love being able to share the needs of others. It’s the biblical pattern … thank you for this opportunity.”
Samaritan Ministries gives people of biblical faith an effective, Bible-driven health care community in which approximately $30 million in medical needs is shared person-to-person every month. During the past 26 years, Samaritan Ministries members have shared more than $3 billion in needs while praying for and encouraging fellow members through personal notes, cards and letters.
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 Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Harrison, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.
