Prayer Treatment Covered

Faith healing news: Democrats' healthcare bill would pay for ‘prayer' treatment.

What do Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have in common? A soft spot for Christian Scientists.

The three senators have quietly inserted a provision into the Democrats' healthcare overhaul that would allow the Christian Science church to receive remuneration from the federal government for prayer treatments as medical expenses.

Why are liberal Democrats teaming up with a conservative senator for a provision that would normally be the bane of the Senate's liberal elite? Because the headquarters of the Christian Science church is in Boston.

"The measure would put Christian Science prayer treatments -- which substitute for or supplement medical treatments -- on the same footing as clinical medicine," the Los Angeles Times' Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger, who found the measure, write. "While not mentioning the church by name, it would prohibit discrimination against 'religious and spiritual healthcare.'"

I'm starting to think that it's impossible to get a decent health care bill passed. It will be so full of compromises, kickbacks, and loopholes, that we're probably better off without it.

And yes, that's the actual logo for Christian Science.