In a U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reports that approximately 34 percent of Americans say they have experienced or seen healing through prayer.

I'm grateful to say that I include myself in that group. As a lifelong Christian Scientist, I have witnessed and experienced firsthand the healing power of prayer. To the Christian Scientist, healing is a natural and necessary consequence of man's innate spiritual identity and consistent with Jesus' directive to follow his example. Christian Science prayer is not a petition for divine intervention, a philosophy of "mind over matter," or positive thinking. Instead, it is based on the authority of Scripture, which presents man as a complete, spiritual idea created and maintained in God's likeness.

Contrary to popular belief, the Christian Science church does not prohibit its members from seeking medical care. However, for 140 years Christian Scientists have found prayer to be effective in meeting their health care needs, a fact well-documented in over 60,000 testimonials from people around the world.

Given the efficacy of prayer-based healing and its potential for all mankind, spiritual care merits an important place in the discussion on health care reform—and, more specifically, the landmark health care bill signed into law this past March. Although it's considered the most sweeping change to federal health care policy since the enactment of Medicare in 1965, in its current form the legislation is incomplete. The new law mandates that most Americans must obtain medical insurance, but does not provide that those who rely on spiritual care for their health can satisfy the mandate by purchasing health insurance covering that kind of care.

Spiritual care, as practiced in Christian Science, includes specific treatment through prayer and, on occasion, non-medical skilled nursing care. This care is not covered under the new law unless the patient is Medicare eligible. Families who want spiritual care must pay for it along with insurance premiums for conventional medical care, which they may never use.

Early versions of the reform legislation included provisions designed to prevent discrimination against spiritual care. Unfortunately, those provisions were not included in the final legislation. However, the opportunity for such provisions remains. Most aspects of the legislation, including the health insurance mandate, do not begin to take effect until 2014. Many of the details of what is included in the legislation will be determined over the next few years by federal regulators and subsequent legislation at both the state and federal levels. If the objective of this reform is to improve access to reliable and effective health care for all Americans, it would seem only natural and fair that any mandated insurance include an option for spiritual care.

There is certainly ample precedent for such insurance coverage. Christian Science nursing services are covered under Medicare, four of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Programs, and TRICARE (insurance for military service member families). Closer to home, both Kansas and Missouri cover spiritual treatment in their state employees' health insurance plans.

As our states take up the task of implementing this vast new legislation, let's not overlook the importance—and opportunity—of including an approach to health care that's cost effective, accessible, and shown to have positive, proven results.