Old order Amish, Mennonites reject health insurance, face high costs for care at not-for-profit hospitals

Old Order Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster County, Pa., "suffer from endemic proportions of certain deadly genetic diseases" because they do not marry outside their communities, and, as they "seek lifesaving treatments, the uninsured in these Pennsylvania communities are struggling with escalating costs of care" at not-for-profit hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the Journal, the issue raises "tough questions for the U.S. health care system" and not-for-profit hospitals, "which are expected to provide charity care in exchange for tax breaks."

Many Old Order Amish and Mennonites refuse to purchase health insurance and reject Medicaid and Medicare because they "believe it is the religious duty of their communities to provide for one another when sick," the Journal reports. As a result, many Old Order Amish and Mennonites who seek care at hospitals must cover the total cost. Old Order Amish and Mennonites maintain that they "don't want charity" but "want bills that reflect the cost of care," as the "government allows hospitals to charge many times the actual cost of services in order to pay for updates to technology and services," according to the Journal.

Request for Special Discounts

D. Holmes Morton, a physician who administers the Clinic for Special Children, has asked two not-for-profit hospitals in the area -- Lancaster General Hospital and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center -- to offer 50% discounts to uninsured Amish and Mennonite patients. Morton said that the hospitals, both of which are profitable, inflate bills for uninsured patients. He said, "If things continue at this rate, hospital bills will overwhelm this community's ability to pay, and these peoples' whole way of life will be lost forever."

The hospitals maintain that they cannot provide special discounts based on religious beliefs or other factors. Lancaster General CEO Thomas Beeman called the request for the special discounts unrealistic and unfair, adding, "You're really then putting the burden on you and everyone else." In a statement, Hershey Medical said that, because uninsured Old Order Amish and Mennonite patients do not "apply for medical assistance after we have counseled them and made the recommendation that they apply, they cannot be considered for charity care" (Anand, Wall Street Journal, 6/28).