Catholic News 2
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Phoenix, Ariz., Oct 14, 2016 / 02:36 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, it immediately prompted concerns about freedom of conscience.From this seemingly adverse situation sprouted a new cost-sharing organization, Solidarity HealthShare, which aims to place Catholic values, the common good, and affordable healthcare at the center of its mission.“The inspiration of it was when the Affordable Care Act was passed. Some Catholic leaders in Phoenix realized that our religious liberty and our consciences were going to be violated if Catholics had to follow these mandates,” the company’s CEO Bradley Hahn told CNA.“So that kind of led the journey to find an ethical and affordable way to pay for medical costs,” Hahn continued.The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. It includes a mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services requiring insurance plans to fund contraception, sterilizations and early abortion pills. ...
Phoenix, Ariz., Oct 14, 2016 / 02:36 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, it immediately prompted concerns about freedom of conscience.
From this seemingly adverse situation sprouted a new cost-sharing organization, Solidarity HealthShare, which aims to place Catholic values, the common good, and affordable healthcare at the center of its mission.
“The inspiration of it was when the Affordable Care Act was passed. Some Catholic leaders in Phoenix realized that our religious liberty and our consciences were going to be violated if Catholics had to follow these mandates,” the company’s CEO Bradley Hahn told CNA.
“So that kind of led the journey to find an ethical and affordable way to pay for medical costs,” Hahn continued.
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. It includes a mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services requiring insurance plans to fund contraception, sterilizations and early abortion pills. The mandate has prompted lawsuits from more than 300 plaintiffs, including companies, non-profits, U.S. states, and individuals who say that it violates their religious beliefs. Many of these lawsuits are still in the process of litigation.
In response to religious freedom concerns – as well as concerns about rising insurance costs – some Americans began turning to health care-share organizations, which have grown in popularity over the past few years.
Solidarity HealthShare, based in Phoenix, Arizona, was founded in 2012 in conjunction with a pre-existing healthshare group called Melita Christian Fellowship Hospital Aid Plan. Solidarity HealthShare facilitates health-sharing among individuals and families across the country, who are looking to opt out of traditional healthcare for a more ethical and faith-centered option.
Solidarity HealthShare is not health insurance. Rather, it is a ministry intended to share the financial burden of those who pay for their own healthcare through voluntary, financial sharing of eligible medical costs between its members.
Rather than paying premiums to an insurance company, every member pays a monthly “share,” which is directly matched to another member’s medical bills.
Solidarity HealthShare is a non-profit organization and exempt from federal regulations, protecting it from the contraception mandate.
Its members are also exempt from a separate mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance.
Since their official launch last week, Solidarity HealthShare has gained about 50 members in total, but Hahn expressed that they are looking to “add about a thousand members in the next couple of months.” Although they began taking members in July, Solidarity HealthShare didn’t formally launch until Oct. 4.
Within a week, there was an incredible outpouring of support for Solidarity HealthShare. Hahn said “the response from Catholics across the country has been very incredibly positive and grateful that Catholics now have an option that's available to them.”
Solidarity HealthShare welcomes any members who agree with the “moral, ethical teachings of the Catholic Church,” Hahn noted, saying that the whole backbone of the organization is founded upon the Catholic Church’s teachings.
The namesake of the organization points to the Catholic Church’s teachings on solidarity, Hahn explained, saying “we aren’t just committed to ourselves, we are committed to the common good and to help others.”
Hahn also said that the idea behind solidarity encompasses problem-solving at the lowest level possible. In this case, Solidarity HealthShare is aiming to “restore that relationship where the doctor and the patient decide what is best for medical care.”
Following their launch, Solidarity HealthShare is looking forward to gaining more members and spreading the word about alternative health care sharing through evangelization.
“We want to use Solidarity as an evangelization tool. We want to reach out to other groups and ministries to help basically catechize and explain why certain medical procedures are objectionable morally,” Hahn stated.
“We want to use Solidarity more as an outreach so we can educate everyone, because the healthcare system touches everybody.”
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):...
(Vatican Radio) The Rev. Dr Kaisamari Hintikka, is a senior member of the Lutheran World Federation and Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations who has been attending a meeting in Rome this week with secretaries of the Christian World Communions, an international ecumenical organization. Delegates attending the conference were received in audience by Pope Francis just before his Wednesday general audience. Dr Hintikka told Susy Hodges that these ecumenical conferences take place on a regular basis and all the different Christian denominations taking part that include Catholics and Orthodox Christians share a longer-term vision of unity and all of them were committed to that ultimate goal. Listen to the interview with the Rev. Dr Kaisamari Hintikka:
(Vatican Radio) The Rev. Dr Kaisamari Hintikka, is a senior member of the Lutheran World Federation and Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations who has been attending a meeting in Rome this week with secretaries of the Christian World Communions, an international ecumenical organization. Delegates attending the conference were received in audience by Pope Francis just before his Wednesday general audience. Dr Hintikka told Susy Hodges that these ecumenical conferences take place on a regular basis and all the different Christian denominations taking part that include Catholics and Orthodox Christians share a longer-term vision of unity and all of them were committed to that ultimate goal.
Listen to the interview with the Rev. Dr Kaisamari Hintikka:
Rome, Italy, Oct 14, 2016 / 10:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday Pope Francis visited with young children at the “SOS Village” in Rome, a community made up of homes for children who are in positions of family or social hardship, as recommended by social services.The Village, as it is called, is made up of five houses, each holding up to six boys and six girls, 12 years of age and under. They live in the house with an “SOS Mother.” The Village aims to support the children and nurture their growth in the same way a family would.The Oct. 14 visit is the latest in the Pope’s “Mercy Friday” initiatives to spend time with various groups each month during the Jubilee of Mercy.In previous trips, he has made surprise stops at places including an elderly home, a drug and alcohol rehab center, and a facility for retired priests.During this month’s visit, the Pope was shown around the Village by the boys and girls, accompanied by staff. They showe...
Rome, Italy, Oct 14, 2016 / 10:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday Pope Francis visited with young children at the “SOS Village” in Rome, a community made up of homes for children who are in positions of family or social hardship, as recommended by social services.
The Village, as it is called, is made up of five houses, each holding up to six boys and six girls, 12 years of age and under. They live in the house with an “SOS Mother.” The Village aims to support the children and nurture their growth in the same way a family would.
The Oct. 14 visit is the latest in the Pope’s “Mercy Friday” initiatives to spend time with various groups each month during the Jubilee of Mercy.
In previous trips, he has made surprise stops at places including an elderly home, a drug and alcohol rehab center, and a facility for retired priests.
During this month’s visit, the Pope was shown around the Village by the boys and girls, accompanied by staff. They showed off the greenspace of the Village, which includes a football field and a playground.
Pope Francis was also shown the children's rooms and their toys, where he listened to their stories and shared a snack with them.
The children living at the Village are accompanied to school, go to church, and play sports. The professionals, residents, non-residents, and volunteers who work at the Village each work with the same child for several years to allow for the creation of stable human relationships and development.
The first SOS Children’s Village was founded in Austria in 1949 as a way to educate children orphaned by the war in a warm family environment, in contrast to the orphanage model prevalent at the time.
After his stop at the SOS Village and before returning to the Vatican, Pope Francis went to visit Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, the archpriest emeritus of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, who has been admitted to the Villa Betania nursing home.
