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Photo illustrated by Leslie Martindale
There is a great amount of information on the Federal Committee office web site and I encourage you to peruse it. The article below on insurance is just one of the many items that are presented on this web site. The comments from readers and the answers from the Federal office that follow this article are very informative.
Insurance Plans Covering Christian Science Care
Various federal, state, and private health insurance plans provide for the reimbursement of Christian Science nursing care and practitioner treatment. Additionally, 17 Christian Science nursing facilities across the country are Medicare providers, which means individuals who have Medicare Part A can receive reimbursement at those facilities. § Read the rest of this entry…
Ever overlook something you were trying to find and it was in plain view all the time?
You might find that true of your Christian Science Committee on Publication Federal Office Web Site. If you would like to check it out click here.
The following are just a few of the current and up-to-date topics you’ll find on the web site. § Read the rest of this entry…
Sacramento Capitol - Photo illustrated by Glenn Gould
There seems to be action on all fronts and at all levels when it comes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Many are following the coming actions of the Supreme Court and their considerations of this law. The possible actions that the court could take are many according to knowledgeable observers. Others are following the implementation steps at the state level. It’s this level that I would like to call to your attention.
Mr. Peter Lee is the executive director of the California Health Benefit Exchange, former CEO of Pacific Business Group on Health, and HHS Director of Delivery Systems Reform for the Obama Administration. Since Mr. Lee was involved with the elements of this law from its beginnings nationally, he understands what must take place at the state level. To over simplify, his first role will be to ensure public accessibility for this program. California is very diverse and this will be an important step in the eyes of the public. Closely following accessibility is outreach and the education of the California constituency. This will involve massive efforts of informing the public what benefits they’ll be eligible for and when. § Read the rest of this entry…
Photo illustrated by Chicago Art Department
by Don Ingwerson
Previously published September 27, 2011, in the Laguna Beach Patch
Every once in awhile an article captures my imagination as to what being unlimited might mean in daily experience. When I start thinking about being unlimited, I am inspired to contemplate – What if?
Deepak Chopra spurred that feeling in me with an article in the Huffington Post about consciousness.
I connected with his idea that we are more unlimited than we may think, and that our scientific theories based on the laws of physics are proving to be less absolute in the age of quantum physics. Three major areas being challenged by quantum physicists are time, space, and matter. Applying these comparatively new ideas about time, space, and matter can affect our thoughts and practices about health. § Read the rest of this entry…
by Don Ingwerson
As a reminder, under the reform law, by January 2014 states must create insurance exchanges that provide coverage options for individuals and small businesses. States can choose to administer their own exchanges – for which they must have some infrastructure in place by January 2013 – or ask the federal government to run the exchanges for them. As I reported on May 26, June 16, and July 7, California has created a state benefit exchange board.
The federal government has proposed a regulation that gives the states some leeway in terms of the timeline, allowing the state to qualify for conditional approval if they are not ready by January 2013, but are on schedule to become operational in January 2014. In additional the regulation would give a state the ability to establish and run its own exchange in 2015 or later if it is not ready in 2014. § Read the rest of this entry…
A guest post written by David Sterrett, Legislative Director, Christian Science Committee on Publication, Federal Office
In an effort to share more information with church members and friends about the Committee on Publication’s efforts on federal health care reform, the Federal Office of the COP hosted its first online Townhall Forum on June 30, 2011. The replay of the discussion is available at: http://christianscience.com/committee-on-publication/federal-legislative-affairs/health-care-reform/online-forum-on-health-care/
There was significant interest in the topic. Over 800 people have listened to the broadcast and almost 600 of them listened to the live event. The format was question and answer. Individuals could submit their questions before and during the event and the members of the Federal Office did their best to answer as many questions as possible during the one hour event. § Read the rest of this entry…
Senator Ed Hernandez
Dear Senator, we missed you…
I had looked forward to chatting with you and your staff along with several of your constituents. These community folks had expressed such great interest in meeting with you. We’re sorry that you did not feel well enough to keep the appointment, but your staff was delightful and promised us that they would carry our interests to you when you were able to return to the office. I had a feeling of meeting an old friend when I scheduled the meeting with you, because my roots go back to the San Gabriel Valley where I was a teacher, principal, and administrator. I remember the days when your school district, La Puente, was considering building a high school based upon a total individualized instruction program (3000 student spaces). The curriculum was going to be developed by a consulting group that had some Mormon roots and the community wasn’t sure that the curriculum would be totally devoid of that influence (whatever that meant at the time). Yesterday, fairness and religious interests brought us back to your door. This time it was for the public to have the right of choice in choosing health insurance coverage in 2014. As coverage will be mandated for almost every one, we did not think it fair to have to purchase coverage that we would not use and then purchase additional health insurance that we would use. § Read the rest of this entry…
US Capitol Hill - Photo illustrated by McKinley2006
Last year unprecedented health care reform laws were passed by the Congress and signed by the President. The laws mandate, among other things, that Americans must purchase health insurance by 2014, or pay a tax—except for those who are then enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid, or who otherwise qualify for an exemption under the laws.
The fact is, despite making significant progress over the past two years, Congress has not yet provided Christian Scientists or others who rely on spiritual, non-medical health care services any accommodation or exception that works for them. The laws that were passed will require them to buy health insurance that very likely will not meet their health care needs.
Capitol Hill Day 2011 was on March 9th. I attended with a number of other Christian Scientists and friends throughout the country to help inform Congress and advocate that they resolve this inequity—at a time when health care reform is very much at the forefront of public debate. I’m not even back from Washington, D. C. yet, but the blog must go on. I’ll let you know the results of this effort in the weeks to come!
Photo illustrated by Calfornia Insurance
One has to ask, will the new mandated insurance requirement for all Americans meet the health care needs of the public? According to a recent state evaluation of the major health insurers, they have done a poor job to date. Specifically, a 2004 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that prayer for one’s own health or the health of others was the number one alternative of choice. Yet, California’s legislation implementing the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has not included this alternative to mainstream medicine. It would seem that customer satisfaction can only be measured if the customer is allowed to choose a health care system of choice.
California’s PPO health insurers get low marks for customer service
By Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times
Most major health insurers in California do a poor job of paying claims and providing customer service for members in preferred provider organization plans, according to a new state survey. § Read the rest of this entry…
From Lookout Mt., Denver, Colorado - Photo illustration by Daisy Pallua
Comments from Russ Gerber regarding Denver Post article
This article regarding spiritual care and health insurance in the Denver Post yesterday sparked many responses (150 so far!), signaling quite a controversy. Some responders indicated that they were astounded by the idea that spiritual care might be considered legitimate enough to be included in our country’s health care system. Interestingly, religious nonmedical nursing facilities have been included in Medicare since 1965, partly because Christian Science has long history of healing – a 140 year track record. Most of the commenters to the article may not know anyone that practices Christian Science personally, so they haven’t heard the experiences of healing like the one shared. However, just to be clear, Christian Scientists choose for themselves what form of health care they use, and they don’t generally “flee” from emergency rooms if they find themselves there (contrary to what the article indicates about a patient who was later healed of burns).
Here’s the article: Christian Scientists push for health insurance that covers spiritual care
