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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.

Bob Loblaw wrote: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.

Bob Loblaw wrote:....

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. ...

The church is not a charity, for goodness sake.

It is a tax-exempt business. If those people want free medical care, let them start their own religion like Joseph Smith did, instead of whining and pouting.

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

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.

bcspace wrote: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.

My guess is that, not being much of a Mormon, he needs us to feel better about himself. By participating here, he can remind himself daily, "At least I'm better than those awful apostates."

That's weird that the church doesn't have insurance for missionaries. When my son was about 5 or 6, he broke his wrist playing in the cultural hall at a church activity. The first thing the Bishop said to me was "hey, the church has insurance for this so you won't have to pay." I was a zealot at the time and had private insurance, so I didn't take him up on it. I just figured if the church has insurance to cover members injured on church property (which it must, right?), then it would pay the costs for missionares injured in the line of duty on a mission. That it doesn't is quite astonishing, really.

Equality wrote:That's weird that the church doesn't have insurance for missionaries. When my son was about 5 or 6, he broke his wrist playing in the cultural hall at a church activity. The first thing the Bishop said to me was "hey, the church has insurance for this so you won't have to pay." I was a zealot at the time and had private insurance, so I didn't take him up on it. I just figured if the church has insurance to cover members injured on church property (which it must, right?), then it would pay the costs for missionares injured in the line of duty on a mission. That it doesn't is quite astonishing, really.

Astonishing and kept quiet when talking to prospective missionaries...

Equality wrote:That's weird that the church doesn't have insurance for missionaries. When my son was about 5 or 6, he broke his wrist playing in the cultural hall at a church activity. The first thing the Bishop said to me was "hey, the church has insurance for this so you won't have to pay." I was a zealot at the time and had private insurance, so I didn't take him up on it. I just figured if the church has insurance to cover members injured on church property (which it must, right?), then it would pay the costs for missionares injured in the line of duty on a mission. That it doesn't is quite astonishing, really.

I had a companion that had to have surgery and I am pretty sure that the church paid for it. That was many years ago though.

bcspace wrote:

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

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.

Bc, how did the dentist manage to fix that tooth with your head so firmly up your ass?