Medi-Share Review: A Christian Health Insurance Alternative
My Medi-Share review below was originally written inward 2009 when I was investigating them but has been continually updated (at present for 2019) every bit I’ve been using them for almost 10 years. Hope it helps!
If you lot are inwards a self-employed state of affairs similar myself or just looking for a Christian wellness insurance alternative, yous may desire to consider Medi-Share.
It is the alternative to health insurance that I have been using for many years and for those wondering Medi-Share IS exempt from the Obamacare mandate.
While it essentially serves the same purpose every flake wellness insurance, they are rattling clear that it is NOT insurance. They telephone band it, “Christian Healthcare Sharing.” It offers essentially all of the benefits of health insurance, but amongst lower premiums.
They state that most families testament preserve xxx-50% inwards monthly healthcare costs each twelvemonth!
What is Medi-Share?
Medi-Share = Insurance?
People are always quest me if it is Christian Medical Insurance. Simply set, no Medi-Share isn’t insurance, but most people wouldn’t genuinely live able to tell a departure.
According to their website:
“Medi-Share is non “Christian insurance.” Rather, it is a health assist sharing programme facilitated yesteryear times Christian Care Ministry (CCM) through which a community of believers voluntarily come upwardly together to business office the toll of i some other’s medical bills. Members withdraw to pct with each other, governed past times member-voted guidelines. Although at that spot is no guarantee of sharing, Medi-Share members have got been faithfully sharing each other’s medical bills for to a greater extent than 20 years, trusting the Lord to render inwards their 4th dimension of demand through the voluntary gifts of other believers. Since 1993, to a greater extent than $1.v billion inward healthcare costs have got got been saved through sharing or discounting.”
How does Medi-Share work?
Each calendar month all the members pay their “portion” (a fixed amount depending on the projection pattern you select) into an line of piece of work concern relationship amongst their phone phone on it to America’s Christian Credit Union. The funds inward all of those accounts are what pay the member’s medical bills each month. “Each projection blueprint essentially tallies medical claims each month, in improver to then divides past times the number of members, officials state. After subtracting for overhead together with administrative expenses, the relaxation goes to pay claims.”
The Medi-Share programme is flexible amongst multiple choices of computer programme levels, benefits, too of course of educational activity out-of-bag expense. You are given the choice of choosing your ain doctors too clinic, but at that topographic dot are discounts available for using networked professionals.
According to their website:
“Members opened their receive Sharing Account amongst America’s Christian Credit Union. Each beau member household voluntarily contributes their Monthly Share into their Sharing Account. For each fellow fellow member alongside eligible medical bills to live shared, Christian Care Ministry identifies i or to a greater extent other members with sufficient funds inward their accounts. CCM electronically transfers funds from each sharing young human fellow member’s concern relationship into the task human human relationship of the member amongst whom they are sharing. CCM processes payment from the member’s line of work relationship.”
From my experience using them, this sounds more confusing than it truly is. They do all this behind the scenes, so as a member I am not involved inwards whatever of that care for.
Our Updated 2019 Medi-Share Review
More updates are listed below, but Linda in addition to I precisely recorded a quick video answering a lot of commons questions that we get:
Is Medi-Share the Solution to Your Health Insurance Needs?
Unless you have a goodness employer-sponsored wellness insurance programme, or you lot’re on Medicare, y'all’re inward all probability concerned roughly your health insurance. H5N1 major argue is the cost of premiums. They tin easily alive over $1,000 per month for a domicile unit, or even for a duad. And that’s l-50 if yous hold a high deductible.
My wife, Linda, and I feel like we found a solution, or at least one that works for us. It’s a Christian health sharing ministry, called Medi-Share. We’ve had it for our job venture since 2009, inward add-on to it’s been working good for the past times times ix years.
It’s a chip unconventional. As I said, it’s a Christian wellness sharing ministry building, which agency it isn’t traditional wellness insurance. But it fills the same role, too inward our experience, it does it at solely a fraction of the toll. And just every flake of import, it’s a service that’s consistent amongst our organized religion values.
We acquire a lot of questions good-nigh it, as well as that’s what I’d similar to utter over inward our Medi-Share review hither.
What is a Christian Health Sharing Ministry?
As a Christian health sharing ministry building edifice, Medi-Share is based on the faith community values as well as practices of the early Church. It was given within the community that each member would per centum 1 another’s burdens.
In that means, members of Medi-Share utilisation 1 some other’s medical burdens. They do that yesteryear contributing to the programme through monthly contributions, called “shares”. The contributions acquire into a puddle, where it’s available to pay for the medical costs of members inwards need.
In improver to payment of a member’s medical costs, the community also support each other inward prayer, together with sometimes amongst personal dorsum up.
Medi-Share is a nonprofit organisation, as well as conducts the figurer computer program along biblical principles.
What happens when you go the doctor?
They genuinely do have a proficient network of participating doctors, too if yous utilisation i the physical treat is smoothen since the doctors’ know how it industrial plant.
We mostly usage doctors from exterior the network. That tin be a flake of an number because a lot of doctors don’t know how Medi-Share plant. But we prefer going to doctors that nosotros experience comfortable with, so we’ll construct the extra endeavor.
But fifty-l out-of-network, we simply explicate Medi-Share to the doc, they do a piddling fleck of excavation, as well as inward add-on to so line organisation human relationship Medi-Share. Medi-Share testament then negotiate a discount on the services, inwards add-on to we’ll pay the deviation out of steal.
Now for us, out of steal is usual, because we utilisation the highest deductible pattern Medi-Share offers. Much every bit is the instance amongst traditional wellness insurance, nosotros do this to move on the monthly contributions as depression every chip possible.
This isn’t a major job inwards our line of slice of piece of work corporation unit of measurement of mensuration, because nosotros mostly acquire for routine checkups. There’s only been 1 or two times where we had to death back for something a piffling fighting to a greater extent complicated. Just like traditional wellness insurance, the high deductible works sound when you don’t acquire to the MD that oft.
Like mentioned to a higher topographic point, the simplest choice is to remain inward-network with your doctors, but if yous sack’t, it just requires a little to a greater extent assay on your factor.
Here is how they explicate it:
“When a medical lawsuit occurs, yous only select a network provider from the Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS) PPO network, which offers 700,000 providers nationwide! (Note: Members may select whatever provider of their choosing, including out-of-network providers, but inward doing so may not do goodness from discounting of medical bills as amongst an inward-network provider.) Show your Medi-Share ID Card to the provider, together with pay your provider fee—$35 initial electrical charge for MD visits, $135 for an Emergency Room see. The physician’s department or infirmary sends your bills to Medi-Share directly.
PHCS negotiates discounts, an average adjustment of 30–35% by staying inwards-network. Your Provider Fee of $35 or $135 is too deducted from the total occupation concern relationship. Medi-Share processes the bills for sharing too notifies you lot of whatsoever amount yous must pay straight off inward club to run across your Annual Household Portion. For any amounts to live shared, Medi-Share transfers sufficient funds from other members’ accounts into your line of work organisation human relationship. Medi-Share notifies the sharing members of the recipient of their monthly portion amount. Share amounts are used to pay providers. Once the dollars are transferred, Medi-Share processes payment to the MD or clinic from the fellow member’s purpose line of work concern human relationship.”
Medi-Share Cost
How much does Medi-Share cost anyway?
This is land a typical enquiry, together with the response is for almost everyone Medi-Share costs a lot less than traditional wellness insurance.
When we switched from health insurance to Medi-Share, our monthly contributions fell to only almost 50% of our previous wellness insurance premiums. And that’s amongst our company unit of 4.
Now I said we pick out concord taken the highest annual deductible to minimize the monthly contribution. Our deductible is $10,000 per twelvemonth, which agency Medi-Share doesn’t commence paying our costs until we cross that threshold.
But as a effect, our monthly contribution is close $230. It’s based on the age of the oldest beau member of the household, as well as that’s the contribution nosotros’re paying alongside me at 37 years sometime.
The screenshot tabular array below will give you lot a basic thought what the monthly contributions are with varying deductibles (referred to every fleck the “annual household portion”). It’s based on a spot of 4, inward which the oldest beau member is twoscore. Notice that at that spot are vii deductibles, ranging from $500-$10,000.
On the far right side of the table, you’ll see a heading, Healthy Monthly Share. Medi-Share volition give yous a contribution discount of upward to twenty% if yous regard surely wellness standards. These receive got to do with really specific metrics for blood pressure degree, abdominal circumference too torso book index. So if yous’re super sound for you lot, your monthly contribution testament live lower still.
Is Medi-Share an alternative to Obamacare?
You’re probably aware that if you don’t have qualifying insurance, you’ll be subject to a tax penalty under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) wellness insurance mandate. There’s skillful news hither. Christian wellness sharing ministries qualify as exempt for the purposes of the mandate.
Here is to a greater extent from them on this:
“The Affordable Care Act includes a special provision for members of Health Care Sharing Ministries, so Medi-Share members are exempt from the mandate to buy insurance or human face upward financial penalties. And your healthcare dollars acquire to assist other Christians rather than funding medical choices that are non God honoring-similar abortion too the forenoon-later pill, which many insurance plans are at nowadays required to comprehend.”
What Are the Qualifications for Medi-Share?
One of the most primal requirements of Medi-Share is that you must adhere to a biblical lifestyle to convey together. For instance, they won’t comprehend abortions. Nor testament you live covered if you’re injured inwards a drunkard driving accident. You must every fleck good abstain from the exercise of tobacco or illegal drugs.
You demand to know these limitations, but you lot should be skilful to laissez passer as long every bit yous adhere to a biblical lifestyle.
Does Medi-Share Cover Pregnancy and Adoptions?
We get this query a lot, together with it’s a skilful i. Simply position, your pregnancy related expenses volition alive covered every fleck long as you’re making your monthly contributions.
How long do you lot receive got to handgrip off to get pregnant?
From the Equus caballus’s oral fissure:
“Pregnant Members amongst an Annual Household Portion (retrieve annual deductible) of $1,250 or higher who concur faithfully shared from the month of excogitation through the month of delivery are eligible for motherhood sharing.”
We haven’t been through the pregnancy experience, but we receive been through ii adoptions amongst them. They do encompass for certain enough expenses at that location every bit well. Adoptions privy be actually expensive, together with we got just most $4,000 back on our starting time ane 4 years ago. On our 2nd adoption we solitary got dorsum $1,500, but past times so we had opted for the higher deductible.
What About Customer Service?
When we beginning started working alongside Medi-Share, the agree off times to acquire customer service would run xl minutes to an lx minutes. They’ve improved on this quite a combat since. But what we deport concur institute is that they’re consistently helpful anytime we speak amongst them.
We likewise typically discovery that they pray with us at the stop of the conversation. As Christians, nosotros regain this comforting.
Why we opt for the high deductible plan
This is really a personal thing. As I said before, we laid the deductible high to keep the monthly contributions depression. And since we’re a pretty good for you theatre, it’s been working good so far. H5N1 lot of people are doing that at introduce with traditional wellness insurance every bit goodness.
We work around the high deductible by budgeting a certain amount each month for out-of-pocket medical expenses. It’s kind of like an informal health emergency fund, ready if we demand it. You pretty much have got to do that if you lot lead hold got a high deductible amongst whatever computer programme.
In a way, it’s a chip like self-insuring, at to the lowest degree for the root $10,000. But it’s comforting to know that Medi-Share will pay 100% of medical costs to a higher place that annual deductible.
What we like about it
- With typical insurance, yous pay a monthly premium, but bear grip no idea where the coin is going. With Medi-Share you lot are informed of who you are sharing with each month – you lot ship away as good as so pray as good as ship letters of back up for those members.
- For most members, there is a substantial toll savings over wellness insurance. Most families tin sack preserve $2,000 a yr.
- They assist encompass adoption expenses (they sent us a depository financial establishment check for $3,000 later our adoption!)
- They concord been operating for 25 years.
- The members vote too brand the rules. So each twelvemonth the members vote on what testament as well as won’t alive covered.
- There is no bound on the amount of bills that tin give the sack live shared past times members.
Things to be aware of…
- You handgrip to live accepted into the estimator programme – not everyone is accepted. And you must concord to their Statement of Faith.
- You must adhere to living a Biblical lifestyle inwards monastic say to maintain your membership. Not doing so tin motion acquire y'all expelled from the programme too volition likely nullify whatsoever claims y'all may have got every flake good.
- “Medi-Share doesn’t function in all costs. All members vote on a yearly footing what costs to per centum. Routine physicals and wellness maintenance costs are currently non eligible for sharing.”
- Membership is non denied due to pre-existing conditions; still, in that location are guidelines inwards topographic point concerning pre-ex-that boundary sharing of pre-existing conditions.
Final Thoughts on Medi-Share
Linda in addition to I are both really comfortable with Medi-Share. More than anything else, it’s mostly a matter of getting comfortable with something different.
One of our biggest concerns when we were considering it was that nosotros would live facing a huge medical invoice too that the members would exactly determine non to “per centum” amongst us to shroud it.
After talking to the Medi-Share representative, it sounds like that isn’t much of a concern if you follow the rules. She explained that in the last 24 years every eligible demand has been covered (shared or discounted). But “eligible” is the key word hither.
For illustration, she told me a story of a member who was inwards a bad machine accident requiring lots of medical slice of piece of work, but since the someone was intoxicated when they got into the accident, the expense was not covered yesteryear Medi-Share. On 1 paw, I remember you should give the guy a break, but at the same fourth dimension, it is the strict rules together with policies that construct the reckoner program work. The whole indicate is that by living a Biblical lifestyle you lot testament be healthier, thus receive got fewer medical expenses.
From what I sympathise, they oftentimes piece of work leftover funds to 50-l aid comprehend ineligible expenses similar these every bit a gesture of grace.
It seems like the programme is perfect for good for you Christians who are committed to the Biblical lifestyle. If yous already have got many wellness conditions status or are prone to lapses into centre abuse, it may not alive worth it.
If you lot are interested inward learning more than just click the link below to acquire pricing info from them, as well as I would suggest calling them to ask whatever other questions that you have got.
$40 Medi-Share Signup Bonus
As a swain fellow member of Medi-Share they give us a bonus for referring novel members, so if you lot do upwards 1's mind to sign upwardly too let them know that Bob Lotich referred yous I am happy to role that bonus with you!
I am happy to send you a $40 Amazon gift card as a thank you! Just electronic post me hither if you lot do.
I would dearest to hear other Medi-Share reviews from other members – so if yous have got had experience with Medi-Share, delight per centum virtually it inward the comments…
I belatedly chatted amongst a friend of mine who uses Samaritan Ministries as their health insurance alternative as good as yous tin hear inward on that conversation below to hear the differences between them in improver to Medi-Share!
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