2023 marks TEN YEARS of being Samaritan Ministries members for our family. And we have definitely had some experience with health care sharing since we’ve joined! Lots of variety of injuries, birth stories (several home births), and other recoveries and testing. I can’t wait to share our very honest and detailed Samaritan Ministries review with you. 🙂

For those of you hearing about healthcare sharing for the first time, it is an alternative to health insurance that satisfies insurance requirements and functions similarly to insurance without being (or costing as much) as insurance.

In this post I talk about what it means to “share” with other members each month, what it is like to submit a medical need, the various needs we have experienced, and using alternative medicine doctors as your primary provider. We also had several emergency hospital stays that we paid with 50% discounts. It’s all in this post. 🙂

(Originally published in 2015. Revised 2018, 2022)

Our Samaritan Ministries Review and Experience

I have been wanting to write this Samaritan Ministries review update for a long time now. I have written a few other posts, too, although fair warning – I have NOT updated those posts in a while. 😉 Some of the info on those may not be updated, but you can check them out below:

Insurance Alternatives: How Christian Healthcare Sharing Ministries Work

Comparing Christian Healthcare Sharing Ministries: Medi-Share, Samaritan Ministries and Christian Healthcare Ministries

Our 1 Year Update with Samaritan Ministries (back in 2014)

Our Home Birth Experience With Samaritan Ministries

**I mentioned this in many of the posts linked above, but Samaritan Ministries is a biblical, faith-based ministry. Members are asked to sign a statement of faith and agree to the guidelines for members. If you are looking for a secular option for health sharing, I have heard nice things from readers about Liberty Healthshare.**

Why We Joined Samaritan Ministries

A bit of a back story about my family and why we joined Samaritan…

In 2013 I quit my job as a teacher to stay home with our two small children KNOWING we were going to choose Samaritan over traditional health insurance. A friend had told me about how much it had blessed her family and knowing my preference for alternative medicine- suggested that it would be a good fit. I was grateful because the traditional insurance options we were given started at over $1,400 monthly for our family of 4 at the time!

After my cancer diagnosis in 2008 and choice to use nontoxic and alternative therapies for treatment, my family no longer utilizes the care of conventionally trained doctors unless an emergency. Because of this, having traditional and expensive insurance is a bit useless for us unless in cases of emergency.

Samaritan was a perfect fit because they allow for us to use the type of treatment we believe is best, along with having conventional emergency care and lab testing when needed. They believe in choice and options for their members. 🙂

How Samaritan Works: Monthly “Shares”

With Samaritan, each month we send our $595 “Share” directly to another member. The “Share” amount varies by age and how many people are on your membership. You can calculate that HERE.

A “Share” is the monthly amount you send to another family so they can use it to pay for their medical bills. You will have a new family every month to send your share to and will get that information in an envelope along with a prayer guide and a monthly newsletter with helpful tips and news.

Also note that individuals and couples without children pay less per month (as low as $190 with reductions for those under 29 in good health.) We are a family of 7, so we pay much more. Families of 8+ pay a bit more than that.

You have the option to send your “Share” online through PayPal or through the mail and the members receiving shares track their receipt of shares with a checklist – online or paper and submit this to the Samaritan office.

If you have a medical need and have to see a doctor or have a hospital bill, that is another process called “Submitting a Need” that I’ll write about below.

Applying to Become a Samaritan Ministries Member

To apply to be a member, you need to fill out an application form either online or by mail. Make sure you read through the guidelines before signing anything. 🙂

There is a one-time application fee of $200 at the start of membership. So the first month we joined we paid $200 + our monthly share to the Samaritan Ministries office. After that we just paid our monthly share each month straight to other members via mail or online via PayPal. The only exception is the month you renew your membership each year. You’ll send that share to headquarters.

A few other important things to know:

• When you apply, you will also need the signature of a church leader to confirm you are active in your church. You will also do this at membership renewal each year.
• Samaritan Ministries is a Christian ministry and they ask that members adhere to the Christian principles outlined in the guidelines and on the application. These are things like not drinking excessively, attending church regularly, etc.

Cards from Samaritan members I received after our home birth.

How Samaritan Works: Submitting “Needs”

A “Need” is what you file after you have received medical treatment for whatever it is you are dealing with. Samaritan is different than insurance in that you are completely free to choose the provider best for you as long as they are licensed in your state.

Samaritan also works differently in that if the doctor demands payment on the spot, you pay UP FRONT and then are reimbursed later by members’ shares. This amount has never been more than $150 for any of the doctors’ offices we have been in before arranging a payment schedule.

A “Need” is the total scope of the treatment for a medical condition (for instance – a broken bone, a pregnancy, etc- it’s the TOTAL medical condition, not each visit.)

For each “need” YOU are responsible for paying for the first $400. (This is called your “personal responsibility.”) If you ask for a self-pay discount upon payment at the doctor’s office or when setting up a hospital payment plan, etc, you receive $250 off of your personal responsibility when you provide proof of discount or a “fair price”.

In most of our medical needs in the past 10 years, we have NOT had to pay all $400 due to self-pay discounts we asked for.

This is a system designed to incentivize members to ask for discounts for their medical bills since we are self-pay payment instead of having to go through insurance – which means the doctor or hospital get their payment more quickly.

This was confusing at first for me at first, so I’ve included examples of what I’m talking about in my need experiences below. Also – it differs slightly nowadays than it used to, so our family’s earlier needs (pre-2020) were less expensive than today and our personal responsibility was less for many years. Inflation has changed things everywhere, especially healthcare.

The new system encourages Samaritan members to check the “Healthcare Bluebook” online database (using your Samaritan login) for the most affordable treatment facility or doctor. If you can prove you received a fair price, you have money reimbursed off your personal responsibility up to $250. Same works if you are asking for discounts on emergency situations.

Our various “Needs” over the past 10 years….

Here’s a rundown of our various medical “Needs” and how life as a  family of 7 (almost 8) has kept us and Samaritan busy over the past 10 years….

Headaches from TMJ/ Teeth Grinding: 2014

• Total cost: ~$600
• We only paid ~$40 after we asked for a ~$260 discount from our family dentist for self-pay and documented it when we submitted our need paperwork with Samaritan (simply an itemized bill showing the discount.)
• Although routine dental care costs are not shared, medical conditions whose root cause requires the care of a dentist IS covered.
• A new mouth guard and learning new stretches helped me immensely with this problem.

Home Birth 2015

• Total cost: $4,126
• Samaritan covered 100%, we paid $0 because members pay no personal responsibility for home birth since it helps reduce costs for the ministry. Hospital births have a $300 responsibility total which is still significantly reduced from insurance!
• All of my supplements, chiropractic care, ultrasounds, labs, midwifery fees, newborn care, and postpartum visits, EVERYTHING was covered.
• I got THE BEST cards from members. I wrote about the whole experience here.

Gallbladder Pain and Digestive Problems 2015

• Total cost: ~$1,500
• We paid first $300 personal responsibility and the remaining was reimbursed through member sharing.
• We saw an alternative medicine doctor licensed in acupuncture in our state. I used homeopathy, supplements, and a series of gallbladder and liver cleanses to eliminate my symptoms. For those who read my blog frequently, this is also the reason I stopped eating the Budwig Mixture after almost 7 years post-cancer. Apparently gallbladder problems are common after multiple pregnancies.
• Seeing an alternative practitioner for this (in my opinion) saved the ministry thousands of dollars. What could have ended up in gallbladder removal surgery was alleviated because of my practitioner’s suggestion of a more gentler approach first. And not to mention, I got to keep my gallbladder. 🙂

Thyroid Concerns and Adrenal Fatigue 2015

• Total cost: $4,459 (over the course of a year)
• We paid first $300 and then received the rest from members.
• After almost a year of being up with a baby or toddler several times throughout the night, my adrenal system was in need of care and my lab tests were showing how it was affecting my thyroid.
• We saw a functional MD this time along with craniosacral therapist who was also an MD and homepath. All of my supplements were covered for the first 120 days. After that we had to pay for them out of pocket. Any alternative therapy-type adjustments are limited to 40 (I think I probably used less than 10.)
• Lab tests were covered 100%.
• I did not use medication, so we did not need to submit for that. Lab test and doctors’ visits were the most expensive on this need. This need lasted the longest so we actually did go over the 120 days of supplement allowance and ended up paying a few hundred out of pocket for supplements. I did notice in the guidelines, that in cases of cancer, the 120 day supplement allowance is waved until patient is in remission, so that’s great news for anyone choosing alternative or integrative cancer treatment!
• Note: All alternative medicine practitioners need to be licensed for your need to be approved.

Cancer Screening Needed 2016

• Total cost: $900
• We paid first $300 and Samaritan shared the rest.
• In 2016 I felt the need to do some more intensive screening and blood work to investigate my remission status from cancer (it had been 8 years since I was diagnosed!)
• We chose to use a blood test called Oncoblot. All markers were clear.

Broken Finger 2016

• Total cost: $1,128
• We paid $0 after over $300 in discounts from the doctor’s office for asking for the “self-pay rate.”

Back Pain 2017

• Total cost: ~$1,000
• No discounts were available so we paid the first $300 for this.
• Received only chiropractic care for this which is limited to 40 visits and no “maintenance care” once condition has been alleviated.

Pregnancy + Miscarriage 2018

• Total cost: $~2,700
• This need began as home birth midwifery care so it was shared 100% and we paid $0.
• Midwifery care, supplements, ultrasound, and eventual emergency room visit were 100% covered.
• Cards from members were so sweet after this need was shared. One woman even sent me a homemade baby blanket and prayer cards.

Broken Arm 2018

• Total cost: $3,000
• We paid first $300 after doctor’s office would not record the discounts for self-pay on our invoice. Dealing with the billing department of certain doctors’ offices can be a a pain, but for the most part they are reasonable. This office was not. 🙁

Home Birth 2019

• Total cost: Probably around ~$4,000 with ultrasounds, supplements, and chiropractic care
• We are paying $0 after submitting our home birth midwife’s invoice ahead of time (last time we didn’t know we could and waited until the end of pregnancy.

Broken Humerus Bone + Surgery/ Hospital Stay 2020

• Total cost: $24,600
• Our 7 year old jumped out of a tree and broke her arm (supracondylar fracture) which required pins and surgery.
• We gathered all bills and called hospital to ask for 50% discount which they honored with immediate payment. We paid with our credit card (to get points) and then was reimbursed by Samaritan members within 6 weeks. We only paid a total of $150 out of pocket because of receiving a discount (Samaritan rewarded us with $250 off of our personal responsibility for working to reduce our bill.)

Broken Femur + Surgery/ Hospital Stay 2020

• Total cost: $20,400
• Two months later our 5 year old broke her femur riding a scooter. I couldn’t believe it, but I knew the drill from our experience two months prior. We went straight to the emergency room at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and they got her right in because of her level of pain. She had surgery and casting the next morning. I ordered a special seatbelt (since was in a half-body cast) and wheelchair with no problem. All was paid for by Samaritan shares and we received the discount for this one also. We only paid $150 out of pocket.

Note: 2020 was the year that the “personal responsibility” was raised from $300 to $400. Samaritan also stopped reducing your personal responsibility amount based on the discount you asked for and received. For instance, if I had $300 in discounts documented (because I called the doctor/hospital and negotiated), in the past, SM would require of me a $0 personal responsibility for that bill! It was awesome, but apparently not everyone cared to ask for discounts or obtain a “fair price” even with discounts, so SM switched over to the “fair price” “Healthcare Bluebook” database which is honestly a bit more confusing and doesn’t apply to emergency situations or home birth.

With the new policy, if you show on your bills that you ask for a discount and get a fair price (whether through the “Healthcare Bluebook” database or your own negotiating for bill discounts,) then SM sends you a check for $250, reducing your personal responsibility to $150. But the days of $0 personal responsibility are over. 🙁 I have called SM various times and expressed my dislike for this change, but overall Samaritan Ministries is still amazing!

Chronic Headaches 2019-2021

• Total Cost: ~$5,000
• I used a combination of cranial osteopathy, homeopathy, and nutritional changes to address this problem over the course of two years. I learned a lot and am so happy to say I no longer have chronic headaches! I had to pay the first $400 on this one because my holistic and functional medicine doctors did not take insurance and therefore did not offer discounts. All “medicines”, including homeopathy and supplements prescribed by my functional chiropractor was covered. (You just have to get a supplements form signed by your doctor.)

Home Birth 2021

• Total cost: ~$5,000
• All costs were shared/ covered including supplements (NORA tea, iron supplements, chlorophyll)
• Placenta encapsulation was also covered (used as a supplement). Doula coverage is also shared if preferred.

Home Birth 2023

• Total cost ~$5,500

Note: All alternative treatment limitations are in section VIII in the Samaritan Guidelines. They are really flexible for the most part as you can see above. 🙂

Save to Share….(for over $250,000 in medical bills)

Coverage of $250,000 per member, per incident is the standard with Samaritan membership annually.

Read more about the Save to Share program if you would like additional “coverage” over $250,000 per person per incident. This program has members put aside an additional $180 – $595 + a yearly $15 enrollment fee in case another member needs additional shares over their $250,000 coverage with their membership.

A few more ways Samaritan is different than health insurance….

First off, it isn’t insurance…

Samaritan Ministries is a non-profit that connects members to each other to share in bearing each others’ medical debt burden. It is not a legally-binding relationship like traditional insurance.

Technically, there *could* be months that you may not receive enough money to cover your full need. This has happened a few times over the past ten years. They call it “proration” where the ministries’ NEEDS cost more than our shares, so only 80-90% of the cost of each need is paid for that month. The next month, the rest of the shares were paid, it just was delayed because there wasn’t enough share money.

If this continues to happen over the course of several months, members are asked to vote on whether to raise our monthly “share” cost to alleviate the need to prorate. Members vote to approve the new rates and that is what our new “Share” payment will be going forward. After a “Share” rate is raised, if there is a surplus in share money, members share payments are lowered for just that month due to a surplus of shares over need costs. 🙂

You would never see an insurance company do that!

You have to be in charge of your medical bills…

With Samaritan YOU are in charge of your healthcare. You can choose the doctors you love, no matter where or how unique their specialty is (as long as they are licensed in your state.)

If you are missionary overseas, you receive your care needed where you are, convert bills to U.S. dollars, and submit them to Samaritan for sharing.

If you choose to receive cancer treatment in Mexico, same thing (you will need to discuss your plans with the Samaritan office ahead of time for approval and give them the heads’ up.)

Perhaps it gets a bit annoying at times, and you need to be organized with your bills and submitting them (making photocopies, etc), but I wouldn’t trade this health freedom for any sort of convenience of an insurance company and co-pay system.

I will add that when I would call my traditional health insurance company (years ago before we had Samaritan), I waited on hold for long periods of time and no one seemed to really be accommodating to my choice of care. They absolutely would not offer to pay for on any of my alternative cancer treatments (which would have been tens of thousands less expensive than the chemotherapy and radiation treatments they would pay for.)

They definitely did not pray with me on the phone and ask me how I was doing.

With Samaritan expect incredibly kind, individualized care. The office staff has always been so incredibly kind and compassionate every time I have had to call and the wait times are prompt. In 10 years I have never had an issue and have only had gratitude towards them. I love when they kindly ask if they can pray for me and my family. 🙂 It’s never weird and I always feel better afterwards.

Who would NOT be a good fit for Samaritan?

There are certain pre-existing conditions that are not shareable. This does not include everything, so I advise calling Samaritan after reading the member guidelines to discuss this with them. Cancer is 5 years remission without recurrence for a new or recurring diagnosis to be shareable.

“Well-visit” pediatrician appointments are not shareable. You will need to plan for this financially and pay out of pocket for each routine visit. It is important to note that vaccines are not covered under the plan either so seeking out a public health center or self-pay pediatrician may be good options for this situation.

Routine “screening” visits such us annual women’s well-care and mammograms, annual colonoscopies, etc. are also not shareable and you will need to plan financially to pay out-of-pocket for those as well.

Those with pre-existing conditions can still join as members, but any new related needs would not be shareable and would need to be submitted as a “Special Prayer Need” so members can give additionally to help relieve your medical burden and also to pray for you.

Vision and Dental needs are not shareable unless they are the root cause or result of a medical condition.

Motorcycle accidents and accidents while under the influence of drugs or alcohol are not shareable.

Birth control, fertility treatment, tubal ligations, vasectomies, and abortions are also not eligible for sharing. Neither are gender reassignment surgeries (had to add that one in for this 2023 update.) 😉

Integrity of the ministry…

One thing I didn’t realize when signing up for SM is that it literally the PEOPLE are the ministry! Samaritan headquarters tries to keep the overhead low so everything we use (except for that once a year monthly share to the office and application fee) is sent DIRECTLY to members.

It is certainly biblical healthcare where members bear each others’ burdens. In months when there is more share money than needs to pay, the monthly share amount has been reduced by as much as $100 for each member. I just love that transparency and honesty.

I will also add that EVERY SINGLE TIME I have called the ministry with a question or to start a new need or ask a question about alternative therapies, I have always been greeted with someone who actually knew what I was talking about and supported my choice.

We decided on Samaritan 10 years ago because I felt all of this from the start.

If you have found this review of our experience with Samaritan Ministries helpful in making your decision, I would love for you to consider letting Samaritan know Cortney @ AntiCancerMom.com referred you. Feel free to post any comments in the questions below. 🙂

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