In the Book of Luke in the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ tells the story of the Good Samaritan who helped restore the health of a man left for dead by thieves. The same act of kindness is still happening now, courtesy of Christian groups in the United States that help their members pay their medical bills.
Instead of relying on health insurances, more and more Christians are turning to "healthcare sharing ministries" to seek financial help for medical emergencies.
Based on figures from the Alliance of Healthcare Sharing Ministries, members of these groups more than doubled over the last six years to 535,000 from about 200,000.
This seems to be a practical choice, because under the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, members of a health care group are exempted from the requirement to have health insurance or pay a yearly fine.
The federal health law nevertheless states that only members of ministries that have operated continuously since December 1999 are exempted from having health insurance.
One such group is appropriately named Samaritan Ministries International, which is based in Illinois. This group plays somewhat like a matchmaker to members whose families need financial help to settle medical expenses, to other members who can provide some money.
James Lansberry, executive vice president of Samaritan, explained that since his group is not involved in providing healthcare insurance, they cannot guarantee that all members will get financial help for their medical needs when they need it.
Lansberry nevertheless has one powerful advice to his group's members: trust that God will provide.
"Our only assets are the good will and continued participation of our members," the ministry's leader said in an article published by The New York Times.
Beneficiaries of healthcare ministries such as this include Kyle Burkholder, the teaching pastor at Grace Point, and his wife, Stefani. The couple recently needed $6,500 in cash for their daughter's ear tube surgery.
The Burkholders at first thought no one will reach out to share the cost of their child's medical procedure, but through God's grace, help slowly came along, complete with words of encouragement from strangers.
"About 90 days after her surgery, sure enough, the money did start showing up," Mrs. Burkholder told The New York Times. "And it was with handwritten notes — every day it was one, two, three notes, and she was reading them aloud, and I found myself just crying."
