Plan for the Creation and Operation of a Health Care Insurance Company for Christians
Plan for the Creation and Operation of a Health Care Insurance Company for Christians
Michael D. Shenkman | 2017
Abstract
The state of the health insurance market in the U.S. is currently in flux and has been since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 (“ACA”). Premiums are rising, coverages are shrinking and private market carriers are withdrawing from state sponsored exchanges. The promises made by the Obama Administration that “if you like your plan you can keep your plan” and “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor” have proven to be untrue. There is considerable dislocation among insureds and their doctors. The nature of the ACA “plans” are proving to be unaffordable (i.e. high deductibles and high premiums) and in some states, completely unavailable. Considerable adverse selection is affecting the pool of risks available for coverage under ACA, and premiums are proving insufficient to cover the loss and loss adjustment expense incurred by insurers, which is preventing them from earning a reasonable profit.
My proposal starts with a simple proposition. Christians are better health insurance risks than non-Christians because they incorporate certain values into their lives that increase health and longevity, and embrace certain truths, such as the right to life, that are ignored by secular health insurers. My solution is to create a Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (“Reciprocal”) that insures Christians only, and that holds true to Christian values. It is in this way that Christians can benefit economically from the restraint, propriety, and integrity with which they lead their lives.
This paper provides the framework for creating such a solution.