This is a question I get a ton: “Exactly how do health share plans work?” In this post I am breaking it all down and what I learned when I began my research 5 years ago. In the next post I compared the big three: Samaritan Ministries, Medi-Share, and Christian Healthcare Ministries. For now, read on to learn more about what it’s like to choose an alternative to traditional health insurance and why I began exploring this option for my family.

(This post was originally written in 2013)

So, while media outlets continue their bickering about their rejection or support of Obamacare, I stand confident in my family’s decision to avoid it altogether.

I’ve learned a lot about the Affordable Healthcare Act in my preparation for this post, but what I’ve understood mostly is that there is a lot of guessing going on about what exactly it will do in the long run.

This video here is the most informational and entertaining one that I found discussing the process of our new healthcare system. It does glorify the concept of government mandated health care, but if the conventional allopathic model of health care is what you subscribe to, you may be perfectly happy with what you are being forced to purchase.

If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you probably know that Obamacare didn’t sit so well with me. I recently read an article from Whole Foods, CEO John Mackery that sums my beliefs up about Obamacare well. The more the government gets involved in running any aspect of my life, the more stirred up my crankiness gets about my individual freedoms.

I work really hard at preventative care for myself and my family. We eat a mostly organic plant-based diet with low sugar and clean meats. We take purposeful supplements daily and manage illness with self-care through natural medicine and avoidance of overly prescribed vaccinations. I treated my cancer naturally when diagnosed in 2008. And we are all thriving!

My family has chosen a different path to wellness and that is where we want to invest our money, certainly not in a program with a wellness philosophy we do not believe in.

HUZZAH! FOR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Our First Amendment Constitutional rights are still being upheld to a degree, and that is how some of us can opt of of Obamacare.

You must know that if you are a professing Christian, you have the right to choose a Christian Healthcare Share Ministry and opt out of Obamacare. I’ve been researching for another option for my secular friends as well, but until I discover something please let me know if you come across anything helpful! (Update: See Liberty HealthShare for a secular take on health cost sharing.)

This is the official Affordable Healthcare Act wording from Senate Bill, H.R. 3590, pages 273-274

“In the case of an individual who is seeking an exemption certificate under section 1311(d)(4)(H) from any requirement or penalty imposed by section 5000A, the following information:

In the case of an individual seeking exemption based on the individual’s status as a
member of an exempt religious sect or division, as a member of a health care sharing ministry, as an Indian,
or as an individual eligible for a hardship exemption, such information as the Secretary shall prescribe.”

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN HEALTH CARE SHARE MINISTRY?

The first thing you need to know about share ministries is that they are NOT insurance. Insurance is a legally binding relationship in which one party agrees to pay the expenses of another’s medical bills. Share Ministries rely on the supply and demand of members SHARING their income with each other through a monthly SHARE that you agree to, which of course requires an element of faith and trust in God’s provision. Even so, all three major ministries have excellent track records for continuous coverage of members’ medical bills.

The major three Christian Healthcare Share Ministries (Samaritan Ministries, Medi-Share, Christian Healthcare Ministries) all work in a similar way in that you agree to a certain amount each month that you “share” with other members and they share with you. In some cases this “share” (which is similar to a premium you pay to an insurance company) sets how much maximum coverage you can receive or how much you pay up front first (similar to a deductible) before the remaining expenses will be shared with you by other members.

When you have a medical “need” or bill that needs to be paid for, other people’s shares are allocated to pay for your need.

HOW DO CHRISTIAN HEALTHCARE SHARE MINISTRIES WORK?

Each CHSM organization works differently, but they all function within the same model of members “sharing” the cost or “bearing each others” health care burdens. (See Galatians 6:2)

Each month you pay the same amount you agree to as your “monthly share” (akin to a premium in the health insurance world.) Then that money is allotted to other members who have a need to pay a medical bill. Know that this process varies from ministry to ministry.

Samaritan Ministries works differently in that you send your monthly share DIRECTLY to another member.

Christian Healthcare Ministries and Medi-Share work in that you send your share to headquarters where they divvy it out to members in need.

The process generally works like this:

Say you get sick and need to go to the doctor. With most of the ministries, you can pick the doctor you already have and love (Medi-Share is picky here with “In-Network” doctors.) At some point during the visit, usually as soon as you check in, you tell them you are a “self-pay” patient and work out a billing schedule or pay up front. (In the case of Medi-Share’s In-Network providers, billing and payment will be taken care of by Medishare and you are not involved except for a $35 co-pay of sorts.)

After receiving care, you notify the CHSM that you are a member of and they decide according to their guidelines whether your “claim” meets the requirements for sharing and then reimburse you directly or send payment directly to the medical provider. Sometimes, as with surgical procedures or maternity care for instance, you will get these needs pre-approved and paid for before the event occurs.

Once your need is filed and approved, you are either reimbursed directly by the members who send checks to you (Samaritan Ministries,) or paid directly by the ministries (Medi-Share and Christian Healthcare Ministries.)

Also, an important note regarding well-visits, vaccinations and prescription for chronic illness. Policies of the three main healthcare ministries vary in this area. From my research, most consider well-visits something a family would need to budget for and are not included in the ministries’ coverage. Please inquire to each individual ministry for more information.

Regarding prescriptions for non-emergencies (those for chronic illness,) all three ministries offer programs for reduced prescription costs, but don’t cover recurring prescriptions within the plan. All prescriptions related to injury or emergency illness are covered for up to a certain amount of time.

Requirements for membership:

To keep cost down, members must agree to living within a biblical lifestyle model and must sign a statement of faith. Essentially by doing this, you agree that you understand that coverage EXCLUDES:

-alcohol or drug-related illness or injury

-pregnancies and births outside of marriage

-birth control and abortion

-treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and a few other things as well (see individual ministries for guidelines.)

Also, unlike Obamacare, each ministry has their own policies regarding preexisting conditions.

WHY DID I CHOOSE A CHRISTIAN HEALTHCARE SHARE MINISTRY?

Like most Americans, I didn’t understand how Obamacare worked until I sat down one night and started researching.

When my husband and I decided I would stop teaching to stay home with our two daughters, we knew we couldn’t afford independent health insurance, and since I was higher risk with a cancer history and of childbearing age, it was astronomical for private coverage. Obamacare could possibly have helped some of this, but it wasn’t rolled out yet, AND very little was known at the time (and still) about how that would affect our family’s health insurance situation.

Also being considered by us was our preference for natural medicine. I now know that Obamacare has made alternative doctors more accessible, but ONLY if your state provides licensing for those doctors (which Georgia does not.) But even so, there are a lot of unknowns to how easily this will be rolled out.

My main pushback to insurance in general was that none of the “health coverage” I prefered for my family would be covered under Obamacare (home birth, naturopathic doctor, alternative cancer treatment, etc.)

Even if we were interested in Obamacare, we would not have been able to get a quote from HealthCare.gov unless I registered my personal information to be evaluated by my income. THEN I would have been offered a price, most likely not subsidized (or given a significant price break by the government) because our income is more than 400% above the poverty line. See these charts to calculate your family’s subsidy status by income.

Through several people all around this same time, I began learning about Christian Health Care Share Ministries (CHSM’s.)

I decided quickly while researching the CHSM processes that I wanted my faith to be at the center of my healthcare, very much like it was when I was treating my cancer naturally.

I loved how prayer and dependence on conviction was at the forefront of these organizations. Also, membership costs of these ministries vary but are significantly lower than insurance plans under Obamacare, especially if your family is in the middle class tax bracket. It is also much easier to obtain coverage for alternative cancer therapies and doctors of YOUR choice.

Join me for the next post in this series, as I compare the three major Christian Healthcare Share Ministries.