Posted on 04/03/2010 7:27:21 AM PDT by Libloather
Amish unaffected by new health law
‘Religious conscience’ covered in legislation.
By JON RUTTER, Staff Writer
Mar 28, 2010 00:18 EST
Most Americans will have to carry health insurance under new federal health care law or risk paying tax penalties — unless they get a "religious conscience" pass.
That's what the legislation says.
Lawmakers note that "religious conscience" refers to conservative Plain sect groups even though it doesn't specifically name them.
Members of Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite churches have long eschewed commercial insurance in favor of community fundraisers and church-run health plans.
The landmark health care overhaul signed last week by President Obama promises to eventually cover 32 million uninsured Americans — and impose hundreds of dollars of fines a year on individuals who don't buy insurance.
House Democrats capped a year-long political struggle Thursday when they passed a so-called "fix-it" measure containing minor revisions.
Currently, said Andrew Wimer, the spokesman for U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, "It appears the Amish will be exempt on an individual basis."
On the other hand, Wimer said, the reform language has been "extremely vague" about entities such as Amish-owned businesses.
Under the legislation, businesses that don't offer health insurance as a benefit will have to pay penalties of $2,000 a year per full-time worker if they have more than 50 workers.
"There's a lot that's unclear at this point," Wimer said. He added that the fog is expected to lift as the legislation is enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service.
The majority of the health insurance mandates don't kick in until 2014.
"It could be 2012, it could be 2014 until we see how the details work out," Wimer said.
The historic legislation has Amish people talking.
"Oh my yes" it does, exclaimed an Amish farmer from Paradise Township, who added that he's suspicious of the measure. "We'll wait and see."
As of last week, Wimer said, no Amish constituents had contacted Pitts' office with concerns.
Authorities on Plain sect culture say they doubt any big changes are in store for the more than 25,000 Amish children and adults in the area.
For one thing, said Donald B. Kraybill, author of "The Riddle of Amish Culture," "There are very, very few [Amish companies employing 50 or more people] in Lancaster County. The bulk of Amish businesses have 12 or fewer people."
For another, there's a long history of exempting Plain people from sweeping federal mandates. The precendent goes back to 1965, when self-employed Amish workers were allowed to opt out of the Social Security and Medicare programs.
In 1988, said Steven Nolt, a Goshen College professor of history who has written extensively about Plain communities, the exemption was extended to Amish employees who worked for Amish-owned companies.
Those in a small Amish subset —church members employed by "English" businesses — still are required to participate in the Social Security program.
"Where I live in northern Indiana," Nolt added, "there's actually a larger minority who fall into that category" because many Amish people work in factories that make recreational vehicles and modular homes.
Nolt and Wimer noted that the religious conscience phrase in the health care measure copies earlier exemption language in the Internal Revenue Service code.
"If you didn't know what it was talking about," Nolt said, "the wording in the bill doesn't make any sense."
There has also been confusion over who else might be eligible to skip health insurance.
Despite erroneous reports, said spokeswoman Allison Doty, "this exclusion has nothing to do with" the Church of Christ, Scientist. It applies only to established religious groups that pay for their own health care.
Congress is letting the Health and Human Services secretary decide how often people who are qualified for waivers should apply for them.
However, Nolt said, he expects Plain sect individuals to have to apply one time only, just like they do with Social Security.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett branded the health care measure unconstitutional and joined 12 other state attorneys general in suing to try to block it.
"There shouldn't be a lot of haggling" over the religious conscience question, Nolt said. "Whether there will be, I don't know."
And 18 wheelers are 80k pounds.
That’s about 4 and a half thousand pounds per wheel.
If the strips are half the size on the buggies, that’s still only a concentration of 1 and a half thousand pounds of force.
Sorry, not buying it.
You mean God hasn’t struck you dead yet?
An unruly bunch, those Amish.
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