Medical insurance has been at the forefront of American minds for years now. Rising costs have led to many calls for reform within the American medical system, but others have developed their own solutions for the problem. One unique solution is a program known as Medi-share. Much like any new program, there are a lot of unknowns regarding Medi-share. The biggest of these being what exactly is Medi-share, and how does it work?
Medi-share is a truly unique health insurance option in that it is not really health insurance. According to the official Medi-share website the program does not include any contractual agreement to pay medical bills. Instead, users are matched with each other to help pay for medical expenses through community giving. Users pay a monthly premium that is then used to help pay the medical expenses of another member. When that user then has their own medical expenses to deal with, the community reaches out to help them cover their bills.
Medi-share offers members a variety of plans for individuals and families, and boasts a plan to fit any budget. Under Medi-share 2.0, members determine their monthly payment based upon an Annual Household Portion (AHP) level.The (AHP) is very similar to a Deductible. In other words, users determine how much of their yearly medical bills they can afford to pay before Medi-share publishes bills for payment support. Medi-share plans include the following seven AHP levels:
- $500
- $1,250
- $2,500
- $3,750
- $5,000
- $7,500
- $10,000
The price for each monthly plan is also determined by the number of individuals covered. After the AHP is determined, prospective members need to select the number of individuals in the household (one, two, or a family of three or more), and provide the age of the oldest individual the plan will cover. All these factors play into the final monthly payment owed.
Medi-share also offers a special plan for senior citizens called Senior Assist. The goal of the plan is to assist those with Medicare Parts A and B by covering the gaps in their Medicare coverage. Senior Assist is available to those who apply, ideally, before their 66th birthday. The Senior Assist program works the same way as the general Medi-share program, where other members help cover medical expenses. However, the coverage is limited to the following expenses:
- Copayments
- Deductibles
- Hospitalization
- Stays in skilled nursing facilities
- Urgent care at out of country providers
Medi-share may seem like, pardon the pun, a gift from God. A faith-based community of strangers banding together to help one another cover their medical costs, but enrollment does come with a hitch. Those who wish to become members must be able to prove their faith in the following ways:
- Regularly attend services and actively support a ministry
- Complete a Statement of Faith and have a verifiable testimony of a relationship with the Lord
- Believe biblical doctrines that view the body as a pure entity and treat it as such
- Not engage in sexual intercourse outside of a Christian marriage
- Not use tobacco or abuse drugs or alcohol
Medi-share is indeed a unique program for providing assistance with medical care, but unlike health insurance programs this route uses blatant discrimination to prevent certain individuals from benefiting from its service. Mychristiancare.org specifically points out that only those engaging in sexual intercourse within a “Christian” marriage are allowed to join. This immediately eliminates gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals from enrolling in Medi-share. The program also places limits on services it covers based upon religious beliefs and states specifically that abortions will not be covered under any circumstance .
To be clear, Medi-share is not an insurance program. Medi-share operates as a non-profit group and while members pay into a group fund each month, the money is never Medi-share’s money. Furthermore, Medi-share is not required to pay any bill, nor keep cash reserves on hand.
How does Medi-Share work
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We would like to use this for our church staff, does anyone use this service that can comment on how good they are? We live in NC
Thank you
I have been without health insurance since 2005, after I was laid off. I did not miss it. I was young and healthy. Traditional insurance was way too expensive for me to continue. Frankly, I was able to use the money that would have been spent on premiums for much better purposes, like food and shelter. Anyway, I was doing all of the right things: I exercised 3-4 times a week, ate well, didn’t drink nor smoke. Basically, I lived a simple, stress-free Christian life. Thankfully, I have not regretted my decision to forego coverage.
Since turning 40 this year, it was time to rethink my need for health insurance. So, reluctantly I set out on a search for insurance.
While rifling through all of the ‘usual suspects’, I discovered a great option founded on faith, responsibility and sharing! It’s the latest trend: Christian-based companies. They have adapted the best practices of typical insurance companies: they are well-organized, they negotiate with providers to reduce costs when possible, and they require pre-qualification for non-essential/non-emergency treatment. Like traditional insurance, clients pay into its services with a monthly giving commitment (similar to a premium) and abide by deductibles. This is where the similarities end, however.
Christian health insurance companies have what other insurance companies lack: a focus on faith and biblical living, personal accountability, and community sharing as integral pieces to responsible healthcare coverage. Based on the biblical principle in Galatians 6:2, which states that Christians should “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”, Christian health insurance is truly a breath of fresh air, at a time when wholesome values are under attack.
The things I truly love about Christian insurance are the:
Emphasis on Lifestyle: They only help clients who commit to a biblical lifestyle. Their clients promise to continue to live a Christian way of life – and live in accordance with their faith (e.g., no sex outside of marriage, no tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse and illegal drugs use). Christian insurance does not pay for medical expenses causes by unclean and irresponsible behavior!
Personal accountability: Members are responsible for making a monthly giving commitment. Giving commitments (ranging from $200-$400/month) are deposited into a central sharing fund. This fund, in turn, pays member medical bills, when needed. (Before a member can submit bills for payment, he/she must meet a minimum total giving commitment.)
Community: Members are a community of brothers and sisters in Christ, who share in their love and never-ending praise of the one true God of All, while sharing the burdens of other believers. As believers, members pray for one another’s physical and spiritual wellbeing. What an added assurance!
I don’t understand how you can afford to be this kind but I believe I’d like to join the Christian insurance group plan. I am a Christian and object to the government paying for abortions. It’s horrible to know that some women abort more than one baby. I heard of some aborting 4 babies. Can’t they use condoms or something? So I’d love to join a group of insurance benefits that doesn’t fund abortions. All those lost little babies, its horrible.
You were very kind to the lady who wrote the long comment, Elle. Is she a member now? How does she like the plan? I am thinking about making the call. Will I qualify if I used to smoke a long time ago? I stopped ten years ago and my doctor says my lungs are clear and in good condition. I don’t know why I ever did something so stupid as to start smoking. Now when I go to play bingo at the casino, I really hate the smell of smoke. They are thinking of having a non-smoking floor cause other people hat it too. Most people who smoke are trying to quit. If I am around second-hand smoke, will I still be able to get your insurance plan? Let me know if you get a chance. Thanks.
Good morning,
I am a Christian but I missed church for 2 weeks because I had a broken leg and it was hard to get out. Most of my life I went to services every week. I know two people who are part of your insurance plan and they say it’s very good for their situation and they hope they never have to use the benefits just have the comfort of knowing it’s there. One lady in the church had kidney stones and her insurance didn’t cover all the bills. If she had been under your plan, would you have paid all her bills? She is having a hard time paying the extra amounts now. I think I would have been better off if I had your plan when I broke my leg. The insurance plan of mine paid about 90% of the bills for the hospital but nothing for the follow-up office visits to my doctor. I didn’t know they wouldn’t and though I paid it off now, I want to be prepared better the next time something happens. I am a believer but sometimes I miss church. Can I still be eligible? Do you contact the minister to determine if I am a good member? Or what?
Clark, I’m sorry your wife broke her arm and you have all the financial burdens. One time my grandson had spinal meningitis and their health insurance was expired. Well, thank God he survived and with no aftereffects. He was one of the luckiest 17 month old babies. It was so pathetic to see him lying there with his little arm strapped to a board so he wouldn’t pull out his IV. So the cost was not the main point. They did pay thousands of dollars over a period of five years. Now they want to make sure, as I do, that they have insurance that is paid up. I think it puts everyone’s mind at ease to have health insurance.
Fair warning to those who are considering Medi-share: We spent 11 months as medi-share subscribers, throughout which we paid them a $500 member fee. They denied coverage for a series of diagnostic scans of my wife’s abdomen after she started experiencing inexplicable (and never cured or diagnosed) abdominal pain. 9 months into our service my wife became pregnant, and Medi-share eventually denied coverage for the pregnancy, somehow suggesting the pregnancy was related to my wife’s abdominal pain as a “pre-existing condition”. For 2011 we paid Medi-share $5600 in subscriber fees and they passed on $11500 in medical bills to us without covering or even admitting any expense. We’re filing a complaint with our state insurance advisory board and we strongly recommend that you reconsider Medi-share as your “health provider”.
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