Sarah Posner, of The American Prospect, has written an article about how some Christian, non-profit groups, known as health-care-sharing ministries (HCSMs), are circumventing the individual mandate, a crucial though contentious aspect of the recent healthcare reform legislation. It profiles the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries and its president, James Lansberry. The article highlights the rather murky provision within the legislation that allows for certain exceptions to the individual mandate based on religion, revealing the odd place that “religion” has in the law. As Posner writes:
The exemption raises an array of concerns, including constitutional questions about the limits of such religious exemptions as well as about adequately protecting consumers without the type of regulatory oversight required of insurance companies. It is also emblematic of how elected officials cater to religious objections without fully examining their origins or consequences.
Read the full article here.