Author Topic: Christian Health Sharing As an Alternative to Health Insurance (Read 707 times)

SanMateo · « **on:** September 27, 2016, 07:14:24 AM »

Does anybody use a christian health sharing program, such as Christian Healthcare Ministries, as an alternative to health insurance? If so, what group do you go through?

With the ever rising health care costs, I've heard from a few traditional Catholics that say that these types of programs save them from being hit by the Obamacare penalty while saving a ton of money.

Thoughts?

Marie Teresa · « **Reply #1 on:** September 27, 2016, 07:28:05 AM »

There was some info in this thread:

http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php?a=topic&t=30810&min=10&num=10

And this one:

http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php?a=topic&t=31574&min=0&num=38

And here is a comparison of three plans:

http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php?a=topic&t=31574&min=23&num=1

The Catholics I know who use them are happy with them.

SanMateo · « **Reply #2 on:** September 27, 2016, 10:02:22 AM »

Quote from: Marie Teresa

There was some info in this thread:

http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php?a=topic&t=30810&min=10&num=10

And this one:

http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php?a=topic&t=31574&min=0&num=38

And here is a comparison of three plans:

http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php?a=topic&t=31574&min=23&num=1

The Catholics I know who use them are happy with them.

Thank you. I will look through the threads.

jen51 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 27, 2016, 10:24:16 AM »

We have Samaritan Ministries. We pay $490 a month for a family. The cost does not go up no matter how many children you have.

There are pros and cons to having this type of "insurance", but I'd definately say the pros outweight the cons!

Maria Regina · « **Reply #4 on:** September 27, 2016, 05:49:49 PM »

Most of these health sharing groups demand that you pay for regular Medicare and Medicare Part D if you are over 65 and on Medicare.

That leaves us out because we refuse to pay for drugs that we cannot use due to chemical sensitivities. In addition, we take natural thyroid which is not covered by Medicare part D because it is compounded at a local compounding pharmacy. We used to use Armour Thyroid, but there were problems getting a regular supply and the drug had GMO corn/corn starch and other fillers in it so that we can no longer use it.

The cost of the compounded thyroid is $600 per year. And the cost of Part D would be more than $1000 per year because we have not paid for it in the past.

In addition, Health Sharing groups have restrictions if you have had any health conditions, including cholesterol over 200, blood pressure over 120/80, or if you are overweight.

MaterDominici · « **Reply #5 on:** September 27, 2016, 06:28:06 PM »

I'm sure I'm well-docuмented in those other threads, but we've been members of Christian Healthcare Ministries for 10 years now. They've "shared" the costs (ie. paid) of the births of each of our children. Otherwise, we haven't needed their assistance.

The biggest change they've made over the 10 years is that they now have a system in place where pre-existing conditions (formerly not shareable) are now shared at a percentage which increases to 100% after you've been a member for a few years.

I looked thoroughly into the 3 major sharing ministries before choosing CHM, but that was 10 years ago. There is a Catholic group, but I don't think they're independent, but rather a subset of Samaritan which would have been my 2nd choice had CHM not worked for us.

SanMateo · « **Reply #6 on:** September 28, 2016, 09:21:36 AM »

Quote from: MaterDominici

I'm sure I'm well-docuмented in those other threads, but we've been members of Christian Healthcare Ministries for 10 years now. They've "shared" the costs (ie. paid) of the births of each of our children. Otherwise, we haven't needed their assistance.

The biggest change they've made over the 10 years is that they now have a system in place where pre-existing conditions (formerly not shareable) are now shared at a percentage which increases to 100% after you've been a member for a few years.

I looked thoroughly into the 3 major sharing ministries before choosing CHM, but that was 10 years ago. There is a Catholic group, but I don't think they're independent, but rather a subset of Samaritan which would have been my 2nd choice had CHM not worked for us.

Thanks, MaterDominici. I have read through your previous posts on the topic. There are pros and cons of each group for sure, but in the end, I really think it depends on what your personal needs are. Some go to the doctor regularly, so a medi-share option with a 1250 TOTAL household max for the year would work best for them. For those that don't go frequently, the CHM option with a 500, 1500, etc. dollar per incident option would probably be more cost effective.

MaterDominici · « **Reply #7 on:** September 28, 2016, 02:23:21 PM »

Quote from: SanAmbrosi

Quote from: MaterDominici
I'm sure I'm well-docuмented in those other threads, but we've been members of Christian Healthcare Ministries for 10 years now. They've "shared" the costs (ie. paid) of the births of each of our children. Otherwise, we haven't needed their assistance.

The biggest change they've made over the 10 years is that they now have a system in place where pre-existing conditions (formerly not shareable) are now shared at a percentage which increases to 100% after you've been a member for a few years.

I looked thoroughly into the 3 major sharing ministries before choosing CHM, but that was 10 years ago. There is a Catholic group, but I don't think they're independent, but rather a subset of Samaritan which would have been my 2nd choice had CHM not worked for us.

Thanks, MaterDominici. I have read through your previous posts on the topic. There are pros and cons of each group for sure, but in the end, I really think it depends on what your personal needs are. Some go to the doctor regularly, so a medi-share option with a 1250 TOTAL household max for the year would work best for them. For those that don't go frequently, the CHM option with a 500, 1500, etc. dollar per incident option would probably be more cost effective.

I could be wrong, but I don't think you'll find any program like this that shares routine doctor visits as a matter of course. I've often described the programs as "major medical" in that you won't find ongoing prescription coverage (other than a discount card) or coverage for regular doctor office visits.

With CHM, if the office visit is related to an incident (generally defined by a time frame surrounding the incident) it would be shareable, but otherwise, office visits should be planned for in your budget above and beyond the $450/family/month that you contribute to the program.

If you're seriously considering one of these programs, I highly recommend getting out your notepad or spreadsheet and making a chart to compare the 3 major programs. And, read the guidelines (not just the website overviews) to fill out your chart as these are what governs the program. They're very similar, though, and it could easily be that this sort of option does not work for your family.

SanMateo · « **Reply #8 on:** October 03, 2016, 06:43:24 AM »

Thank you. I will have to go through the costs before my child is born in April. Luckily, my wife and I both don't take any medications regularly.