Kentucky Judge to Review Christian Health Care Case

WKMS | By Todd Hatton,

The Associated Press

Published August 7, 2012 at 9:07 AM CDT

A judge has scheduled a hearing for later this month in a longstanding dispute between the commonwealth and a Christians-only health care plan. The case pits the state Department of Insurance against Medi-Share, a Florida-based cost-sharing ministry that helps pay medical bills for churchgoers across the country. Lawyers for the state have asked Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate to hold Medi-Share in contempt of court for continuing to operate in Kentucky. Medi-Share asked for a hearing to explain changes the ministry has made to comply with Kentucky insurance regulations. The legal battle involves how tightly the state can regulate Medi-Share, which serves nearly 40,000 people in 49 states, including more than 700 in Kentucky. The hearing is set for August 30.

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Todd Hatton

Todd Hatton hails from Paducah, Kentucky, where he got into radio under the auspices of the late, great John Stewart of WKYX while a student at Paducah Community College. He also worked at WKMS in the reel-to-reel tape days of the early 1990s before running off first to San Francisco, then Orlando in search of something to do when he grew up. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Murray State University. He vigorously resists adulthood and watches his wife, Angela Hatton, save the world one plastic bottle at a time.

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