"Samaritan Ministries" bull

[Patsy]

Kim C mentioned Samaritan Ministries again at her blog: http://inashoe.com/2011/08/we-are-unins ... t-that-way

Commenter 'Happy Elf Mom' gives her, and it, what-to:

http://homeschoolnetc.blogspot.com/2010 ... rdens.html

SM's 'standards' for membership infuriate me.

[starfish]

The fundies love it that you have to be "vetted" out for membership. Almost as good as being in Doug's Boerne Christian Assembly church!!!!

Some of them do get a little put out that it is slightly more difficult for those of them that "home church" (don't bother to attend a church) to join in the fundie health care fun.

[slickcat79]

I like Happy Elf Mom's entry. The list of medical exceptions for SM is AT LEAST as rigorous as any insurance company, then you have to make sure you can pass the are-you-christian-enough test. And if you can get into the program to begin with, many of the exclusions that they won't cover are things that a traditional insurance company wouldn't blink at, like treatment for STIs. It's the same as insurance, but with an extra layer of holier-than-thou judging on top.

I guess it could be economical for a large family, but if the cost for a single individual is $135/month, I could do better simply purchasing private insurance from BC/BS. Then I wouldn't have to jump through their morality hoops :roll:

Reading LiaS always makes me extra annoyed. Besides the horrible way that those kids have to live, their income is drawn from Vision Forum. They are living, breathing examples of the way that VF tells people they should live, but even VF itself can't pay a man enough to adequately support a QF family on a single income. But clearly taking donations for manly trips abroad while your employees can't afford their families' medical care is what Jesus would do.

[formergothardite]

I wonder if the one guy who popped into all the other threads we have had about this "ministry" will come back and tell us we are all wrong? LOL Of course, he avoided all the difficult questions that would reveal what a unchristian scam this is.

[MLizabeth]

They are living, breathing examples of the way that VF tells people they should live, but even VF itself can't pay a man enough to adequately support a QF family on a single income. But clearly taking donations for manly trips abroad while your employees can't afford their families' medical care is what Jesus would do.

Word.

Meanwhile at my Godless university medical coverage for an entire family runs about $200 a month.

[hoipolloi]

Membership in Samaritan "Ministries" also includes having their representatives badger those who provided you with medical care to lower their charges or remove them entirely, after you've received the care.

Wonder how all these fundie freedom-lovers would like it if I engaged their businesses to do work & then argued with them over whether or how much I'd end up actually paying them for said work.

ETA: I do not by any means want to imply that I think all health insurance charges are appropriate or fairly assessed but it sticks in my craw that the same individuals who bleat about their financial independence & family-owned businesses are also quite happy to challenge the charges or fees levied by the various medical entities who have provided them care.

[starfish]

It seems like SM's many customers don't mind paying outrageous shares for practically no coverage BECAUSE they get to tell others they can't use birth control or have abortions. At least not on their dime!!!!!!

I think that's the big attraction to it.

Wouldn't it be funny to join SM for the sole purpose of submitting a birth control claim? That would be a lot of trouble just to yank their chain, but it would be sooo funny to see them get all pious and self-righteous.

It's a big, unregulated scam.

[starfish]

One of Kim C's faithful followers denounced traditional insurance companies, in the comments, because they wanted to charge her family of 23 (slight exaggeration) a higher premium b/c they do not vaccinate!

Oh the persecution!

[Bookworm89]

My sister and brother-in-law use SM and tried to convince me when I age out of my dad's tricare to get it but I politely told them I would hopefully have a job that has insurance and I would go with that (If I don't I'll get anything but SM, I'm not a fan after reading their website).

[ems]

As I posted on one of the other threads, Samaritan Ministries is more a club for those who don't "believe in insurance" and want to feel holier-than-thou than a "ministry."

I think we should have a contest to come up with a better name for them, as they shame the parable of the Good Samaritan.

[Guest Anonymous]

As I posted on one of the other threads, Samaritan Ministries is more a club for those who don't "believe in insurance" and want to feel holier-than-thou than a "ministry."

I think we should have a contest to come up with a better name for them, as they shame the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Pharisee Ministries?

[bbfreethinker]

Pharisee Ministries?

Perfect!

[hoipolloi]

Pharisee Ministries?

Excellent!

[Guest Anonymous]

In some immigrant families here in the US folks pay a fixed amount into a 'pot'. During that time (usually once a month) folks can ask to withdraw in excess of their contributions, to cover unpaid medical expenses, buying a house etc. None of it has to do with waist size or viagra. I think these folks co-opted a good idea and now are using it as just another religious control mechanism.

[doggie]

As I posted on one of the other threads, Samaritan Ministries is more a club for those who don't "believe in insurance" and want to feel holier-than-thou than a "ministry."

I think we should have a contest to come up with a better name for them, as they shame the parable of the Good Samaritan.

it is also a way for vm to make Christians conform to their ideals. Plus you have to air your problem to others so that will limit people using it too.

[PennySycamore]

Wow! Happy Elf Mom really laid it on the line, didn't she?

Was that FJ's very own Raine commenting on Happy Elf Mom's blog? Great comment Raine!

[Maggie Mae]

After reading the SM website and looking at a sample newsletter, I just have to ask "Who signs up for this?" I thought the Fundies were afraid of doctors because doctors are too nosy. But they are perfectly willing to let their names, addresses, and possibly medical conditions be printed in a newsletter? It seems creepy. And they suggest that you send a note with your monthly "gift?" Oh, I'd just LOVE some unsolicited health "advice" telling me that if I take 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar and wear a magnetic bracelet, my migrane will go away.

[Patsy]

I'd be curious to know if anyone has an idea of how much money goes in, and out, of SM. Exactly how much do they get from it?

[MamaJunebug]

Right here, in James Lansberry's (I presume a Pharisee Ministries executive who can't be bothered to respond personally to a blogger, even one of his customer's) words, is why I'll continue to carry insurance sponsored by a large, faceless corporation and/or the guvmint.

What we don’t share is psychiatry treatment and mood altering prescriptions

By 'share' they mean 'cover.' Right, so his respiratory-related Symbicort is shareable but another person's neurological-related Lexapro is not.

Because the respiratory system is real, and the neurological one is .... not real?

Yeah. No.

[treemom]

Right here, in James Lansberry's (I presume a Pharisee Ministries executive who can't be bothered to respond personally to a blogger, even one of his customer's) words, is why I'll continue to carry insurance sponsored by a large, faceless corporation and/or the guvmint.

By 'share' they mean 'cover.' Right, so his respiratory-related Symbicort is shareable but another person's neurological-related Lexapro is not.

Because the respiratory system is real, and the neurological one is .... not real?

Yeah. No.

Lots of drugs prescribed for say cancer or an infection or shareable things are mood altering. My lexapro doesn't alter my mood. It really doesn't. I still get sad, happy, mad. But what it does is help me control a persistent on fight or flight instinct I have for really stupid things. Like going into stores.

Pharisee ministries suck. And lie. They claim they don't exclude people the same way insurance does, but clearly they do.

[MamaJunebug]

treemom wrote:

Lots of drugs prescribed for say cancer or an infection or shareable things are mood altering. My lexapro doesn't alter my mood. It really doesn't. I still get sad, happy, mad. But what it does is help me control a persistent on fight or flight instinct I have for really stupid things. Like going into stores.

That's a good point and it brings up yet another point:

How do Pharisee Ministries dare presume that a medical professional would write for a psychotopic drug that wasn't needed? That would change a good mood into a bad mood (to seriously oversimplify things)?

What about a patient with schizophrenia whose "moods" [sic] were altered from seeing and hearing voices and people that aren't really there, by drugs that helped bring them back into reality?

Oh, wait, right, there's no schizophrenia. That's being possessed.

... There are times when I think I need to just walk away from FJ and the fight against glib dominionism and smug extremism. This is one of them.

So tired. So very tired of these snide arrogants!

[gustava]

My sister and brother-in-law use SM and tried to convince me when I age out of my dad's tricare to get it but I politely told them I would hopefully have a job that has insurance and I would go with that (If I don't I'll get anything but SM, I'm not a fan after reading their website).

Under ebil Obamacare, I think you can stay on your dad's insurance until you are 24 or 26, and with any luck and a cooperative Supreme Court, in 2014, you should be able to buy reasonable insurance on your own, if you don't have employee insurance.

Damn ebil guvmint for making health insurance available and affordable :clap:

[treemom]

By the way, I actually do think these things should be illegal or regulated.

[demgirl]

I also believe these types of programs need to be government regulated. I think the reason they don't cover psych stuff is simply that they believe psych problems are not truly illnesses but rathe failures of the individual to be right with God. I can't tell you the number of fundie posts about how anxiety and depression are simply side effects of your failure to trust God.

I'm not extremely hopeful that the new healthcare bill will do much to drive down costs of the average consumer. I actually think the reality is that paying the fine for not having healthcare will be far, far cheaper than buying the health care itself, so I believe that most people will remain uninsured who cannot afford to buy private health care plans now. I have no doubt our fundies will pay the tax penalty and bitch about it, but remain uninsured, but I also think most average uninsured Americans will do the same. I think most people, especially in this economy, simply do not have an extra $400.00 a month. And sure, it's bad long term planning, but if the money isn't there in your budget, you can't just make it appear. That's why I support single payer.

But yeah... even if Pharisee Ministries were my only option, I think I'd prefer to go without.

[formergothardite]

By the way, I actually do think these things should be illegal or regulated.

How exactly do they get away without being regulated like insurance companies? Does sticking the word "ministry" in the name just automatically make them free from those regulations? Do they say how much money they take compared to how much they send to customers? It just seems like a scam all the way around.