From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Katy Talento – https://www.americaoutloud.news/healthcare-sharing-ministries-are-a-great-alternative-to-surging-medical-costs-and-the-affordable-care-act/
Health insurance as we know it is a relatively new phenomenon. Accident insurance existed in the United States since the mid 1800s, becoming more prevalent as the industrial revolution brought more on the job injuries. Companies had onsite doctors who were paid by deductions from the employees’ pay checks.
In 1929 a group of teachers at Baylor University in Dallas formed the first modern group plan by contracting with a nearby hospital to receive care in return for a monthly fee. Under this “hospitalization policy” teachers would get two weeks of paid hospital care for 50 cents a month. This benefited both parties. The patients had relief from high hospital bills they were unable to pay and the hospital wouldn’t lose money on unpaid bills. With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s, many other hospitals followed the model of the Baylor Plan, and medical insurance became much more widespread. By 1963 more than 900 companies were offering health insurance products.
During World War II and the government wage freezes, health insurance became linked with employment because employers offered this benefit since they were unable to attract workers through higher wages. Over the years, the insurance products became more comprehensive and covered the cost of routine, preventive, and emergency health care procedures, and most prescription drugs. During the 1980s and 1990s, footing the bill for policies covering everything under the sun, along with diagnostic and treatment advances, the cost of health care rose rapidly. To save money, and the majority of employer-sponsored group insurance plans switched from “fee-for-service” plans to the cheaper managed care plans.
Even with the managed care model, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data, about half of U.S. adults say they have difficulty affording health care costs. About 40 percent of U.S. adults say they have delayed or gone without medical care in the last year due to cost.
And the medical care costs just going higher and higher. The Affordable Care Act so far has done nothing to contain medical costs or make health insurance more affordable for everyone. Enter health sharing ministries. The concept of health sharing ministries is reminiscent of the early English-speaking American settlers who addressed social concerns through self-reliance and voluntarism.
My guest today will fill us in on the nuts and bolts of health care cost sharing.
Short Bio
Katy Talento is the executive Director of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries. She is a veteran policy advisor, health care reformer, epidemiologist and thought leader. As the former top health advisor at the White House Domestic Policy Council, Katy spearheaded transformative policies to protect religious liberty in health care, end secret health care prices across the United States, end predatory medical collections practices, lower prescription drug prices, guarantee health records access and interoperability for patients and their care teams, combat the opioid addiction crisis and eliminate domestic HIV/AIDS.
Ms. Talento has appeared on or been published in a number of media outlets, including CNN, CBN, Sky News, Newsmax, The New York Times, The Hill, and many others.
ABOUT THE ALLIANCE OF HEALTH CARE SHARING MINISTRIES:
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries was established as a 501(c)(6) trade organization to represent the common interests of Health Care Sharing Ministries which are facilitating the sharing of health care needs (financial, emotional, and spiritual) by individuals and families, and their participants. The Alliance engages with federal and state regulators and policy makers, members of the media, and the Christian community to provide accurate and timely information on Health Care Sharing Ministries. More information can be found online at ahcsm.org.
To learn more information about the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, visit its website: ahcsm.org
Social Media Pages:
The Alliance Facebook Page (@AllianceHCSM): facebook.com/AllianceHCSM
The Alliance Twitter Page (@AllianceHCSM): twitter.com/AllianceHCSM
