Medi-Share Rating | Alternative to health insurance for Christians

According to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual health insurance premiums for individuals in 2020 was $ 7,470. The family rewards were over $ 21,000.

If your employer pays most (or all) of your health insurance, you probably didn’t know about the high cost of insurance. But if you’re self-employed or don’t have employer-funded insurance coverage, you know how bad that high bill can be.

Health ministries like Medi-Share are an answer to these massive costs. Medi-Share is a faith-based cost-sharing program designed for Christians who want to mutually support one another’s medical expenses. It’s not insurance, but it can be a way to help qualified members keep their medical expenses in check. Here’s what you need to know about Medi-Share.

• Health Care Service for Christians
• Can cost significantly less a year than health insurance
• Not all medical costs can be shared

What is MediShare?

Medi-Share (the brand name of Christian Care Ministries) is a medical cost sharing organization based on Christian faith. The association does not offer health insurance. However, members are exempt from the individual mandate for their own health insurance.

This exception used to be financially valuable as it allowed Medi-Share members to avoid penalties. However, there are no longer any fines associated with not having your own health insurance. At the time of writing, Medi-Share has over 400,000 members who have shared more than $ 2.6 billion in medical expenses.

How do members share health care costs?

Although Medi-Share is not a health insurance, it works in a similar way to health insurance. Members still have to make a monthly payment, which Medi-Share refers to as a “share” rather than a premium.

The amount of the share is based on age, marital status and the number of people who have followed (e.g. children, spouses, etc.). For a single 26-year-old, a monthly serving is between $ 107 and $ 280. A price calculator is available on the website.

If you have medical expenses such as a broken bone, baby birth, or necessary surgery, you will be responsible for a carrier fee (US $ 35 for regular doctor visits and US $ 200 for emergency room visits). The invoice is then presented to Medi-Share (Christian Care Ministries) for negotiation and discounts.

As a member, you are responsible for paying the bill up to your annual household share (AHP). The AHP ranges from $ 3,000 to $ 12,000 and varies based on your monthly payments. All bills through your AHP are shared by the network.

Is Medi-Share affordable?

If you have occupational health insurance or are eligible for premium credits through Healthcare.gov, you are unlikely to save a lot of money with Medi-Share. If you add the cost of basic services and the cost of monthly premiums and annual household share, it’s hard to stay ahead.

However, if you have a higher income and are self-employed, Medi-Share can help you save hundreds of dollars per month. This is especially true if you are healthy and rarely need medical attention. As soon as your AHP is reached, Medi-Share members share 100% of the costs associated with your care (provided that your expenses meet the eligibility criteria).

Does Medi-Share cover my requirements?

Medi-Share does not work according to a damage model. Since this is not an insurance, medical bills must be considered as eligible. Most medical expenses are considered eligible.

However, Medi-Share has a long list of non-sharing conditions. Some of the most notable exceptions are:

• Maternity protection for a child out of wedlock (excluding rape).
  
• abortion
  
• Medical care for self-harm
• Medical care for drug use or abuse
• Caring for sexually transmitted diseases (except for innocent transmission exceptions)
  
• Behavioral or mental health care (most health insurances also limit related coverage)
• Prescription drugs are subject to restrictions (only 6 months exchange for new diseases)
  
• Prosthetics (in most cases)
  

Pre-existing illnesses are also only covered if a member has shared for at least 36 months. Even so, you have a share limit of $ 100,000. Once you’ve shared for at least 60 months, your pre-existing coverage limit will increase to $ 500,000.

Most of the time, Medi-Share will meet the needs of its members. However, if you want any of the above services, it may not make sense to get in touch with Medi-Share.

How does the basic supply work with Medi-Share?

In contrast to normal insurance, Medi-Share does not normally cover the basic supply. However, there are exceptions such as B. Well visits up to the age of six and an annual physical examination per member.

Since members have to pay for most preventive services out of their own pocket, Medi-Share recommends that members consult a doctor within its PPO network (which includes over 900,000 providers nationwide) to find the best possible offer. Medi-Share also offers its members free telemedicine.

My experience with Medi-share

I used Medi-Share for a short time when I was making too much to be eligible for a health insurance premium tax credit and was also unable to access an employer-sponsored health insurance program. I was young, healthy, and had recently given birth. As a result, I didn’t feel like I was likely to need intensive medical care in the coming year.

During the year, I paid for dental care, a telemedicine visit (which wasn’t covered at the time), and an inexpensive prescription ($ 9 per month). I qualified for a healthy living discount and didn’t have to see a doctor. My husband with previous illnesses and my children were insured through his student health insurance.

Overall, I enjoyed being a member of Medi-Share. I liked the opportunity to share encouraging notes with some of the featured members. However, I was eager to get back on regular health insurance. I found it was difficult to find a family doctor who would accept me as a patient. That may have changed because Medi-Share’s network of providers appears to be much larger today than it did four years ago.

Is it worth?

I think Medi-Share offers a unique cost structure for medical sharing. Christians who have a particular conviction against normal health insurance should definitely find out more from Medi-Share or one of the other health services (currently there are 9 with widespread open admission options).

Aside from those with certain religious beliefs, Medi-Share could be a good solution for individuals or families who cannot find affordable health insurance that suits their needs. For example, self-employed people can make significant savings by opting out of health insurance and joining ministries of health. Nomadic freelancers who cannot readily qualify for country-specific insurance may find that Medi-Share (or health care sharing in general) makes more sense for their lifestyle.

Because Medi-Share has strict belief guidelines, I encourage prospective members to carefully read the member lifestyle and belief guidelines. If you don’t agree to all of the membership requirements, you should look into a non-religious health sharing program like Knew Health or an alternative self-employed health insurance provider like Sidecar Health.

Medi-share functions