Missionary Health Care

[_The Mighty Builder]

[quote="Bob Loblaw"]Does the church have a responsibility, either legal or moral, to provide health care for injured or ill missionaries?

The Mormon Church Operates thus.

1. If injured while on a Self Imposed Servitude - Missionary Parents Insurance Policy First. Service provided by Health Care Provider under the Law of Consecration Second. Medical Facility at location paid for by the Mormon church if not exceeding $1500.00 Third. Medical Facility at Home Station of injured (payment to be determined) Lastly.

2. If per-existing condition TOUGH SH*T, you lied to us so go home and hope you don't die enroute.

[_Fence Sitter]

It has been ten years but when my son was injured on his mission in South America, the Church picked up all the medical bills there and some after care treatment he needed here when he returned. I never even saw a bill or what it cost.

[_kairos]

i volunteer in a daytime drop in homeless shelter/center in fairfax va- we serve 100 homeless a day w/hot meals /showers/laundry and counseling-this is faith based, no gov $$.

one long term guest is a return male mish who had a bad enough bike accident in seattle, wash on his mission to put him in a coma for two weeks-they sent him home. once home in ut he, according to his mom, was acting strangely. requests for followup with church medical/insurance officials ended up nothing happening. his primary symptom was/is grandiosity personality (delusions of grandeur).so he gets married, can't hold a job ,deserts his wife and 2 kids, comes to va to live with his sister. she kicks him out after a year for watching porn on the computer around her 2 daughters. upon meeting him u would believe he is a successful person with businesses , homes etc( go to our website http://www.thelambcenter.org
and click on the video; mark is the first guest interviewed-(without background u wonder why he is in a homeless ctr) . i have spoken to his stake prezs ,bishops etc-they are NO help. mark is mentally ill ( i thk it goes to the bike accident). he is probably 35 now and he sees no need for help because he has a severe personality disorder. he calls bill marriott his personal friend but the only job he can hold is waiter- he has been arrested several times for trepassing in bldgs looking for a safe place to sleep. i thk a caring church would have had him get a cat scan to rule out tumor or brain damage- it did not happen.

just sayin
k

[_Bob Loblaw]

An attorney friend sent me this, which is too good not to quote:

A few years ago, there was a lawsuit like that in Texas by a missionary who got really sick on his mission. The Church refused to pay for his medical bills, too, and his lawsuit was dismissed because the Church had no legal duty to him. I'm pretty sure that's what Jesus said, too. If you have no common law duty to pay for a missionary getting sick while in my service, then f*** him.

[_Dr. Shades]

2. If per-existing condition TOUGH SH*T, you lied to us so go home and hope you don't die enroute.

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[_lostindc]

Does the church have a responsibility, either legal or moral, to provide health care for injured or ill missionaries?

I was injured on my mission and incurred about $150 in medical expenses, for which I was not reimbursed. It wasn't a big deal to me, but it can be when the bills are high.

In one case I am familiar with, an older couple from Canada served a mission in another country. Because Canadians have national health insurance, they did not have a private insurance policy, nor were they told to obtain insurance before their mission. This couple was involved in a serious car accident, which was the fault of the driver, in this case a young missionary. The sister spent weeks in the hospital, racking up thousands of dollars in medical bills. She and her husband asked for help from the church to pay the bills, and the church refused.

It seems to me that the church has a moral responsibility to care for those who have volunteered to leave home for 2 years, often to dangerous places. The "white Bible" we carried as missionaries said we were official representatives of the church, and it seems proper for the church to take care of its representatives.

If you are injured or sick on your mission you must not be faithful enough. TSM told everyone that when you are on the Lords errand you are entitled to His protection.

This. The thread could have ended here. OP, next time, look to aspects of your life that you may not be spiritually up-to-snuff or perhaps there is a sin you did not confess. I am disappointed in you and hope things go better. Consider the injury a wakeup call.

[_Lucifer]

Does the church have a responsibility, either legal or moral, to provide health care for injured or ill missionaries?

I was injured on my mission and incurred about $150 in medical expenses, for which I was not reimbursed. It wasn't a big deal to me, but it can be when the bills are high.

In one case I am familiar with, an older couple from Canada served a mission in another country. Because Canadians have national health insurance, they did not have a private insurance policy, nor were they told to obtain insurance before their mission. This couple was involved in a serious car accident, which was the fault of the driver, in this case a young missionary. The sister spent weeks in the hospital, racking up thousands of dollars in medical bills. She and her husband asked for help from the church to pay the bills, and the church refused.

It seems to me that the church has a moral responsibility to care for those who have volunteered to leave home for 2 years, often to dangerous places. The "white Bible" we carried as missionaries said we were official representatives of the church, and it seems proper for the church to take care of its representatives.

Sinners. The whole lot of those socialists.

\m/

[_Racer]

I served in the Southern US. If we wanted medical treatment, we first had to call call this old crusty retired Dr. in SLC to approve it. This doc was called by the by the church to oversee and diagnose medical treatment of the elders. He visited the mission once a year and traveled to all our zone conferences. He was very specific in saying that his job was to save the church money on unneeded Dr. Visits.

One time my comp crashed his bike and dislocated his shoulder. He was in a lot of pain, but instead of doing the obvious thing, we walked home and called the mission Dr. He told my comp to lay down on the floor and have me place my foot in his armpit and stomp down on his armpit while pulling his shoulder to try and reset his shoulder joint. It did not work and caused a lot of pain for my comp. we ended up at the ER because by then it was after hours at the regular clinics, so you can see we saved a lot of money there.

On a second occasion I came down with a sore throat and fever. He told me to boil a pot of water, put a towel over my head and inhale the steam from the pot 3 times a day for 10-15 minutes. I got worse by each passing day and he kept telling me to just keep inhaling the steam until I felt better. Finally a local member who was a Dr. checked me out and I had severe strep throat. He couldn't believe the instructions I received from the mission doc and treated me for free and paid for my antibiotics.

This is 100% true and happened in the 90's. After the strep incident. I had my parents put me back on their health insurance and send me an insurance card. I never called that idiot again. I don't know if the church still does this or not, but it was insane.

[_bcspace]

When I was in LA, the mission had a list of doctors, dentists, etc. who would perform any service or operation in their purview for free for a missionary. I had dental work (chipped tooth playing tackle football with the brothers in the 'hood whilst tracting), and an severely sprained ankle treated (beach volleyball on P-Day) done for free.

Good luck finding an LDS doctor in South Africa or Paraguay. We had an LDS doctor in our mission, and he charged us the same as other patients (some missionaries were convinced he overcharged us because we were "wealthy Americans."

Either way, you dodged the question. Do you think the church has any moral or legal responsibility to cover the costs of injuries or illnesses incurred during missionary service? A simple yes or no would suffice, but your reasoning for your answer would be even better.

I didn't dodge your question. I never read it until now. I derailed the thread by typing my remembrances brought up when I read the thread title.

But yes, I do believe the Church should do much more insurance-wise. I've seen the insurance it offers (or used to offer) for the loss of limbs or eyes etc. and I think it's wholly inadequate. I believe it has a moral obligation to do so because they are in the unpaid service of the Church.

[_krose]

I had a companion who had to have surgery twice, for separate ailments. Fortunately, we were in a civilized country with national health care, so he was covered as a resident.

A relative of mine dealt with a pain in his hip for the last several months of his mission. He powered through the pain -- suffering for the Lard -- and was diagnosed with cancer after returning home.