The following article was suggested by American Vision supporter James M. Krutzig who wrote most of it.
Former Chicago mayor and chief of staff to President Barack Obama Rahm Emanuel repeated his statement in 2008 during the financial collapse that was the result of government programs run amok, “Never allow a crisis to go to waste.”
His solution to the financial crisis then and now is more government interference, more government spending, more government control over our lives, and fewer private sector options.
The response was quick and sure from Marc Lotter, Director of Strategic Communications for Pres. Trump’s 2020 Campaign:
Democrats are using Rahm Emanuel’s playbook of never letting a crisis go to waste. Their demands have NOTHING TO DO with helping the American people combat the Chinese Virus —this is about fulfilling their liberal wish list/Green New Deal.
The prudence at the core of Never allow a crisis to go to waste” statement is essentially “strike while the iron is hot,” but not in the way Emanuel and his Leftist protagonists mean it.
In most crisis throughout history, the general public tends to respond in anxiety and fear. Politicians for millennia have recognized that this fear makes it easier to pass laws that otherwise would be a herculean task in calmer times.
While this often has led to politicians making power grabs and the populous appointing elected saviors (1 Sam. 1:8), Christians often miss the opportunity before them (Luke:16:8). Right now, we the citizens (not subjects) of this nation have a golden opportunity to make a subtle but powerfully strategic move.
As federal and state governments hurry to pass relief bills to help hurting Americans and a suffocating economy, we should take advantage of this as salt and light to our elected officials. While there are several important things that we should advocate to be passed, perhaps the most strategic victory we could advocate for is a tax deduction for individuals, families, and employers who are using health sharing ministries.
Sharing ministries have a firm biblical basis. In Galatians 6:2, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” In Acts 2:44–45, the early Christians “were together and had everything in common,” that is, they shared a common faith and saw what they owned to be a gift from God that could be used for His people and the advance of His kingdom, and “gave to anyone as he had need.” Those who gave to help others were not compelled by either the church or the State to share with others.
Sharing was a common practice in the New Testament (1 Cor 16:1–4; 2 Cor 8:1–9:15; cf. Gal 2:10; Rom 15:25–31). Today’s sharing ministries operate on similar principles exclusively for medical expenses. For example, Samaritan Ministries, states:
Health care sharing is a way that Christians are paying for their health care without using health insurance. When they have a medical need, Samaritan members receive support from other members and pay their health care providers directly.
A monthly share is the amount you send directly to other members each month and is based on the membership level that you select. Each month you’ll send your share to a member in need.
It’s that simple. The top three are the Medi-Share, Samaritan Ministries, and Christian Healthcare Ministries.
Presently, monthly share payments are not deductible from federal income tax because they are not considered a medical expense because they are not insurance or a charitable donation unless the member payment is in excess of their required monthly minimum.
For those who are not familiar with them, health sharing ministries are an alternative to insurance that is allowed under the current laws. Unlike the governmental insurance and healthcare system that relies on government mandated taxes and fees to make a convoluted and expensive system that ultimately makes the problem of expensive health care worse, health sharing ministries are designed for Christians to give monthly payments to help other Christians in the network with their medical bills.
The results have been astounding. Since these ministries do not rely on a complex bureaucracy and regulations, but rather connect the patient with the provider directly with cash payments, both parties have been able to cut costs and save money. The chief issue that has prevented many Christian families and businesses from joining them is cost. Here’s where the strategic play comes in.
If we, as salt and light can contact our representatives, both federal and state, in each branch or house, and make known our desire for this type of legislation to be passed in any upcoming aid bill, we could win a significant victory. The ability for individuals and families to deduct their health sharing payments from their taxes (and employer’s contributions to a lesser extent, so that plan is connected to the individual, not the employer) would allow thousands of Christian families and businesses to join these plans, which in turn would drive our healthcare system to lower prices with better results.
The more this happens, the less need there would be for high priced government insurance and would not only undermine the feel-good named Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), but would crush the advance towards full socialized medicine. In other words, we would be on the road to a free market healthcare system.
As millions of Christians are stuck at home wondering what they can do, there is no better time to use your influence on your elected representatives. Redeeming the time before us, passing this type of legislation could sow such a strategic victory that our grandchildren could reap a new age in American history: the return of the free market.