Manna Christian Disability Program GuidelinesEffective 02/08/2008 |
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I. Manna Guidelines
III. Qualifications
for Membership
V.When You Have a Disabling
Event/Condition
VI. What Is Expected of Members
VI. Appeals
VI. Additional Christian
Care Ministry Resources |
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A. Bringing Believers Together Christian Care Ministry, Inc. (CCM) brings believers together to share the blessings God has bestowed on them according to the example of Scripture and the early Christian Church. Manna brings Christians together to help one another during a time of disability. CCM facilitates sharing directly between participants who have volunteered in faith to assist one another when a participant has a need for income replacement resulting from an eligible disability. B. Manna is Not Insurance While Manna exists to assist its members in time of disability, just as with church benevolence programs, there is no guarantee that assistance will be available. Therefore, neither CCM nor Manna members shall be held liable for any part of a person’s financial obligations. Each Manna member remains individually liable and responsible for their financial obligations at all times. Manna is not disability insurance, nor is it guaranteed in any way. Manna is not, and should never be construed as, a contract for insurance or a substitute for a contract guaranteeing disability insurance. CCM shall not be held liable for a failure to replace any part of a member’s income. There is no transfer of risk from a Manna member to CCM or from a Manna member to the Manna memberships as a whole. All such sharing of a Manna member’s need is on a voluntary basis only. All money comes from the voluntary giving of members, not from CCM itself.
C. Modification of the Guidelines - Your Vote Counts
member --The Manna participant who meets the application qualifications
and abides by the requirements for participation. III. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP A. Christian Testimony
All Manna members must have a verifiable Christian testimony indicating a personal
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and profess the following Statement of Faith:
All members must live by biblical standards, agree that believers are to bear one another’s burdens, attend a fellowship of believers regularly, and actively support that ministry (2 Cor. 8:14). Members must believe the biblical doctrine that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and are therefore to be kept pure (1 Cor 6:19). Violations of this doctrine include, but are not limited to, the use of tobacco in any form and the abuse of drugs, including legal drugs, such as alcohol and prescription or over-the-counter drugs. In accordance with Scripture, members must not engage in sex outside of traditional Christian marriage. (Hebrews 13:4) B. U.S. Citizenship or legal residents, English language required Manna members must reside in the United States. Only legal residents with a green card or immigrant visa and a social security number who live full-time in the United States can qualify for Manna membership. On the day that a member ceases to be a legal resident, he or she no longer qualifies for Manna membership. It is essential that the applicant understand the Manna Guidelines and is able to effectively communicate with CCM. Therefore, the Manna member must be able to speak English fluently and read it well enough to thoroughly understand these Guidelines. C. Age Manna applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 70. However, if a Manna member turns 71, and is still employed, they can continue to participate in the Manna program through age 75. D. Employment Status Manna applicants and members must be employed in some capacity to participate in this Christian disability sharing program. Retirement income, or other passive income such as rental or investment income, is not considered employment. E. Tobacco Use Manna applicants must have abstained for at least the 12 months prior to application from the use of tobacco in any form to be considered for Manna membership, and members cannot use any tobacco products or their Manna membership will be terminated.
The completed application for Manna membership must be submitted with a non-refundable
application fee of $50. If applying for Manna and Medi-Share memberships
at the same time, the $50 Manna application fee will be waived.
(Medi-Share is CCM’s Christian healthcare sharing program. For more
information visit www.medi-share.org.) Each applicant, regardless of whether
they are in the same household, must apply and participate individually. The
Manna application can be requested by calling Member Services at (800) 264-2562
or downloaded from from the Manna website: www.mannacds.org.
V. When You Have a Disabling Event/Condition A. Manna Sharing Each Manna member contributes monthly an administrative fee of $10, which is used by CCM to administer the program, and a Variable Share Amount (VSA) of up to $24 per month (total not to exceed $34 per month), which is used to assist other Manna members. The recipient’s Manna VSA and monthly administrative fee are waived for each month that they receive assistance from other Manna members as a result of a disability. Sharing is accomplished by communicating the needs of Manna members suffering from eligible disabilities to other members who send their Variable Share Amount (VSA) to CCM. CCM then forwards the total VSA collected to those Manna members in need. The partial replacement of actual earned income lost due to an illness or injury will be presented to Manna members for sharing for up to 9 months (12 months for cancer). Up to 80% of the verifiable lost income will be presented for sharing; however, the assistance is limited to $4,300 for each full month of disability. Further, if in a given month the total eligible needs exceed the VSA collected, the needs are shared on a prorated basis. Please see the examples that follow for illustrations of Manna sharing.
B. Needs Determination 1. Eligibility
The following factors are considered to determine eligibility.
C. Submitting a Need Failure to disclose medical or lifestyle information that might disqualify the member may result in termination of membership. If terminated, no refund of shares paid will be issued. If a member recalls or becomes aware of any medical history that was not reported on the RFA forms or during the subsequent information gathering process, that information should be immediately submitted in writing to CCM.
D. Earned Income Verification
All changes in membership are effective on the first of the month. If a member wishes to withdraw, please inform CCM by mail, e-mail or fax at least 15 days prior to the desired effective month. United States mail should be addressed to Christian Care Ministry, Attn: Manna, P.O. Box 121505, West Melbourne, FL 32912. E-mails may be sent to memberservices@mannacds.org and letters may be faxed to (321) 308-7779. The foregoing notwithstanding, if a Manna member fails to submit their monthly share for 2 consecutive months, CCM will take this as an indication that the member desires to withdraw from Manna and his or her membership will be cancelled effective at the end of the month for which he or she last submitted a monthly share. G. Reapplication After Withdrawal A Manna member who has withdrawn must apply for new membership by paying the $50 application fee and submitting to the full application process and review. VI. What Is Expected of Members A. Sharing Faithfully Each Month
Faithful sharing makes it possible for members with financial
needs to continue with their current financial responsibilities in spite of their
inability to work. Every member receives notice of the monthly share amount that is due on the first
day of the next month. B. Praying and Sharing Manna members are encouraged to pray for these members and their families. Members may also wish to send cards, letters, or emails of encouragement as many members have expressed how blessed they are by their fellow members who take the time to contact them. The names and addresses of the members assigned to receive monthly shares are published on the monthly share statement. Prayer requests may be submitted by calling the CCM Chaplain at (800) 264-2562. C. Extra Blessing Gifts Manna members can give over and above their specified sharing amount to help another member in need. Members may send an additional amount with their share payment and mark their monthly share notice to share the extra amount. D. Adherence to Lifestyle Requirements When applying, Manna members must read and agree with the terms in the membership application regarding certain lifestyle requirements. These requirements include: refraining from sexual relations outside of traditional Christian marriage, no use of tobacco or illegal drugs in any form, or abuse of legal drugs, including alcohol. If a Manna member chooses not to live by these lifestyle requirements, they will be disqualified for membership and his or her needs will not be eligible for sharing. If terminated, refund of shares paid will be issued.If a Manna member believes that a medical or financial eligibility determination of a need was inaccurate within the provisions of the Guidelines, a signed appeal letter may be submitted to Christian Care Ministry, Attn: Manna, PO Box 121505, West Melbourne FL 32912 or faxed to (321) 308-7779. The appeal will be presented to a “Three Member Appeal Panel”, which models the biblical pattern of Matthew 18:15-17. The determination of the Three Member Appeal Panel shall be final and binding on CCM. Should a Manna member disagree with the determination of the Three Member Appeal Panel, the parties agree to be bound by the following mediation and binding arbitration agreement in an attempt to resolve issues and bring reconciliation. A. Mediation and Arbitration The parties to this agreement are Christians or Christian organizations and believe that the Bible commands them to make every effort to live at peace and to resolve disputes with each other in private or within the Christian community in conformity with the biblical injunctions of 1 Corinthians 6:1-8, Matthew 5:23-24, and Matthew 18:15-20. Therefore, the parties agree that any claim or dispute arising out of, or related to, this agreement or any aspect thereof, including claims under federal, state, and local statutory or common law, the law of contract, and law of tort, shall be settled by biblically based mediation. If resolution of the dispute and reconciliation do not result from mediation, the matter shall then be submitted to an independent and objective arbitrator for binding arbitration, with each party to bear their own costs and attorney’s fees, and with the cost of arbitration itself to be borne by CCM. The parties agree that the mediation and arbitration process will be conducted in accordance with the "Rules of Procedure for Christian Conciliation" ("Rules") contained in the Peacemaker Ministries booklet Guidelines for Christian Conciliation. Consistent with the Rules, each party to the agreement shall agree to the selection of the arbitrator. The parties agree that if there is an impasse in the selection of the arbitrator, the Institute for Christian Conciliation, a division of Peacemaker Ministries in Billings, Montana (406-256-1583), shall be asked to provide the name of a qualified person who will serve in that capacity. Consistent with the Rules, the arbitrator shall issue a written opinion within a reasonable time. The parties agree that these methods shall be the sole remedy for any controversy or claim arising out of this agreement, and they expressly waive their right to file a lawsuit against one another in any civil court for such disputes, except to enforce a legally binding arbitration decision for the reasons stated in the first paragraph of this subsection. B. No Conflicts of Interest CCM does not gain financially in any way by determining that a financial need is eligible or ineligible for sharing by Manna members. CCM is a not-for-profit ministry and no person owns all or part of CCM. CCM impartially carries out the wishes of the members as expressed in the Manna Guidelines. Additional Christian Care Ministry Resources Medi-Share:
The Medi-Share program brings Christians together to share the cost of their medical
bills. Medi-Share has been bringing Christians together since 1993
and its members have shared more than $325,000,000 with each other over that period.
Health Initiatives: Health Initiatives provides a range of educational resources for Medi-Share's 50,000 members nationwide. The team includes 21 staff members, plus a dozen consultants from the health professions – medicine, neuropsychology, exercise physiology, physical therapy, and nutrition. To learn more about Health Initiatives visit www.ccmhi.org or call (800) 264-2562. Quick Number Reference Manna Member Inquiries
(800) 264-2562 Prayer Requests
Christian Care Ministry Chaplain Christian Care Ministry - Manna
P.O. Box 121505
Physical address:
Phone: (800) 264-2562
Website: |
