{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate has set a hearing for August 30th to consider whether Medi-Share, a Florida-based Christians-only health care plan, should be held in contempt of court more than a year after the Kentucky Supreme Court subjected it to stricter regulations that could have barred it from doing business in Kentucky. Justices found in 2010 that Medi-Share is insurance and should be subject to the same regulations as secular health care plans, a move that could have forced the organization to serve non-Christians and to provide costly coverage of pre-existing conditions. Medi-Share says its members aren't buying insurance, but taking part in a charitable endeavor to help cover medical bills of fellow Christians and potentially have their own costs covered should the need arise. 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.
