As U.S. struggles with health reform, the Amish go their own way

“We have our own health care,” said a retired Amish carpenter, who like other Amish interviewed for this story, asked that his name not be used because of a traditional aversion to publicity and bringing attention to oneself.

“They (hospitals) give you a bill,” he said. “If you can’t pay it, your church will.”

The Amish system is a little more complicated than that. Some 280,000 people live in Amish communities scattered through the United States, with the largest populations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, according to research by Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

While practices vary by community, most Amish fund their health care through a system that merges church aid, benefit auctions and negotiated discounts with local hospitals – promising quick cash payment in exchange for lower rates.

“The way they come together to pay for health care is amazing,” said Jan Bergen, chief operating officer at Lancaster General Health. “It’s a tithing. Their sense of responsibility extends beyond themselves and to the community.”