July 23, 2012 issue
Insurance mandate exempts many plain Anabaptists
By Sheldon C. Good Mennonite World ReviewThe 2010 health-care reform law, recently upheld by the Supreme Court, includes an individual mandate requiring “everyone” to carry insurance.
But not plain-sect Mennonites and the Amish. They forgo medical insurance, seeking to trust God and help each other, often through mutual-aid plans. The Affordable Care Act will not change that.
A narrow category in the law allows religious groups who are exempt from Social Security payroll taxes also to be exempt from the requirement to have health insurance.
Granted on the basis of religious conscience, “it’s a pretty straightforward exemption,” said Steve Nolt, a professor of history at Goshen (Ind.) College and an expert on plain Anabaptist groups, in an email.
But he said the exemption is “not immediately obvious when reading the text of the law, because conservative Anabaptist groups are not mentioned by name anywhere.”
The majority of the religious groups exempt from Social Security payroll taxes are Anabaptist. More than 3,100 Amish, conservative Mennonite and Hutterite congregations are exempt.
Each member who “holds to the tenets of their respective group” is exempt from the individual mandate, said Timothy S. Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Va.
Four categories named in the law exempt people from the individual mandate:
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Incarcerated individuals;
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Undocumented aliens;
Comments
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I find it strange how selective certain groups are regarding their participation in the larger culture. Groups like these will try to be apolitical unless it affects them and they want an exemption. I expect that they are not so independent when it comes to building their own roads to travel upon.
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Great article, Sheldon. Very straightforward and helpful.
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They pay taxes. The kinds of taxes that are used to build roads. Ok with that?
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@ Gary, this was supposed to be...
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Elect obama to another term and he will do a lot of things WITHOUT the approval of Congress or the People. Marxist Socialism will then Prevail. Remember Martin Niemöller's poem about what happened in Germany during the 1930-40's. obama is doing much the same by overturning passed and signed laws by Presidential Fiat!
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@PNB. Huh????
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Mennonita: They have an exemption for now. But remember, the goal of the obama Regiem is for single payer, anf the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is anti Religion. The Tax exemption for Charitable Donations to Religious Organizations and Charities is also at risk. Just look at what they are doing to the Catholics. Can Conservative Mennonites and Christians be far behind?
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PNB, I'm a progressive Democrat. Don't know what that has to do with the level of my "religiosity," but I yam what I yam. And, FYI, Obama's closer to being a Mennonite than a Marxist or Muslim. Check out the UCC.
I had to read your post a couple times to figure out what you were trying to say, but allow me to take a shot at responding. I think there's a simple solution to the problem you seem so concerned about. If religious institutions are so worried about what the big scary Affordable Care Act is going to "force them to do," then DON'T TAKE FEDERAL MONEY to run your religious institutions! Not one penny. Not one exemption. Not one Romney-like slimey scheme or cocky CPA concocted angle to avoid paying taxes. Not a cent, okay? Run Mennonite institutions with Mennonite money. Period. But you can't have it both ways. You take money from the federal government, sooner or later you're going to have to play by its rules. By the way, could you please enlighten me on what "they" are doing to the Catholics? Are we talking contraception? If so, that's the one that makes me laugh the hardest. I'll spell it out real simple-like for you: The proper and regular use of contraception is the most successful method of reducing the number of abortions. Think about it. Are you really worried about an issue that I thought was resolved 40 years ago? Really?
And what's with the exemption for donations? I thought people gave money, made contributions, supported their charitable causes and religious institutions because it was a good thing to do, the thing Jesus would have done, because they want to help, maybe even because they believe in that old timey 10 percent thing. I didn't think it was because they got some tax break. Huh, again?
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Mennonita: Remember this. obama Care was just the first step. Relect Premier obama for another term and a Supreme Congres run by Marxist Socialist Progressive Democrats and they will pass many more laws and and these laws will take away more and more Freedoms.
As for birth control, your car insurance doesn't pay for oil or oil changes. If you want mechanical Breakdown coverage for not taking personal responsibility for not changing it, you pay EXTRA for that. You can pay for your own birth control by exercising self control or buying self control by drinking one less Starbucks Lattee a week nd using the money to but it at your local CVS!
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I've said it once, I'll say it again. Come talk to me after you've dealt with a chronic health care condition for 20 years. Do you know about lifetime caps on insurance payments? Inability to buy insurance with a pre-existing condition? Come talk to me, then. Last question. When you turn 65, will you forego Medicare, telling the government to keep its health care money? Just wondering.
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