Why we like it:
Although there is no guarantee, MediShare members have been faithfully sharing each other’s medical bills for over 20 years, trusting the Lord to provide in their time of need through the voluntary gifts of other believers. Since 1993, more than $1.2 billion of member healthcare expenses have been shared and discounted through MediShare. This is a faith-based program and you must be able to sign their Statement of Faith.
We like that the cost is much more affordable per month than other ACA-domestic health insurance options available on the government marketplace, esp. if you do not qualify for subsidies.
NOTE: This is not a medical insurance plan, but a way of sharing risk and medical costs.
Good for:
- MediShare members share each other’s healthcare costs
- Faith-based – Must be able to sign Statement of Faith
- It’s Not Insurance—It’s Christian Healthcare Sharing
- Much less monthly than ACA health insurance plans
Highlights
MediShare is not medical insurance:
- Not a state-regulated health insurance.
- It is a mutual sharing ministry health plan.
- Not offered through an insurance company or re-insurer
- Whether anyone chooses to assist you with your medical bills will be totally voluntary.
- Healthcare sharing is when a group of people unite to help pay each other’s medical bills.
MediShare is administered on behalf of its members by Christian Care Ministry, Inc
How does MediShare serve as a ministry to the Christian community?
- Christian Care Ministry isn’t just a healthcare sharing ministry. We also highly value our Members’ spiritual needs and general well-being. Members can post prayer needs on the online PrayerStream and a chaplain is available to counsel and pray with them.
What kind of oversight is there at MediShare?
- MediShare is self-regulated by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for the policy decisions of the ministry.
What is the history of MediShare?
- In 1993 MediShare was organized, offering a formalized approach to healthcare sharing. MediShare households have saved and shared more than one billion dollars in medical expenses since then. MediShare is administered by Christian Care Ministry, a 501(c)(3) organization.
How does the claim process work?
- Members do not file claims, nor does the ministry handle claims because we are not an insurance company. “Claim” literally means that you have a right to someone else’s money; remember, Christian Care Ministry does not pay your medical bills with its money. If your Eligible Medical Bill is paid, it is paid with funds received directly from another Member. Our Members present their membership card to their service provider. The service provider then discounts the bill accordingly, if within the Preferred Provider Organization network. The bill is then sent to us where we negotiate for
- further discounts. Here, we review the services provided to determine if the bill is eligible for sharing. After the AHP has been met and if the bill is eligible, it is published for sharing.
So MediShare is not medical insurance?
- Correct! MediShare is not insurance and Christian Care Ministry is not an insurance company.
The program is a healthcare sharing ministry, facilitated by Christian Care Ministry. With insurance, an insurance company agrees to pay your medical bills with its funds. Healthcare sharing ministries, like Christian Care Ministry, facilitate member-to-member sharing. Your monthly share deposit each month does not go into a reserve at Christian Care Ministry. Instead, it goes directly to a family who has a medical need. Similarly, other families are contributing to help you through your time of need.
Qualifications and Eligibility
MediShare® is based on biblical principles of health and lifestyle.
Each adult member must:
- Have a verifiable Christian testimony indicating a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and profess the Statement of Faith, attend a fellowship of believers, and regularly and actively support that ministry.
- Share the conviction that believers are to bear one another’s burdens according to Galatians 6:2.
- Believe the biblical doctrine that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and therefore are to be kept pure. Members must not engage in sex outside of traditional Biblical marriage, which is a union of one man and one woman, and cannot use tobacco or illegal drugs in any form, or abuse legal drugs or alcohol.
- Be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident with a visa or green card and Social Security number who lives full time in the United States. Those serving abroad as missionaries may qualify.
Details
Choose from seven program options from 500USD to 10,000USD
• $500 (Only available for members 18-29) • $1,250 • $2,500 • $3,750 • $5,000 • $7,500 • $10,000
What is an Annual Household Portion (AHP)?
The annual amount of eligible medical bills that a household must meet before medical bills will be published for sharing.
Once you meet your AHP, all eligible bills will be published for sharing for the entire household. (Not per person or per event.) It is one amount for the entire family for the entire year!
Members pay a $35 provider fee at each office or hospital visit, $135 for emergency room visits. These fees do not count towards the AHP.
Flexible Share Amounts:
MediShare’s wide variety of share amounts are based on age, size of household, and the program option you choose. Find which one of our seven different program options best fits your family’s needs by visiting www.MyChristianCare.org and using the Share Calculator.
MediShare is available to seniors with Medicare parts A & B for less than $100 per month!*
- Available only as an individual membership.
Why Medi-Share?
It’s Affordable
As a Christian healthcare sharing community, MediShare offers affordable options that average about half the cost of insurance. Share amounts are based on your choice of one of seven different programs. You’ll also enjoy the cost-savings benefits of telehealth doctor consultations and vision and dental discount plans which are offered free of charge through MediShare partner providers.
It’s Good Stewardship
With flexible options to fit the needs of virtually any individual or family, and even an incentive available for our healthier members, MediShare is sensible stewardship for Christians who don’t want to be left alone to pay their medical bills.
It’s a God-honoring Choice
The Affordable Care Act includes a special provision for Healthcare Sharing Ministries, so as a MediShare member you will be exempt from any tax penalties. And your healthcare dollars go to help other Christians rather than funding medical choices that are not God honoring—like abortion and the morning-after pill—which many insurance plans are now required to cover.
It’s Proven
Since 1993, MediShare members have been caring for one another through medical bill sharing—over $1.2 billion have been shared and discounted! It’s a biblical, proven model for healthcare: more than 189,000 believers across America helping one another in true Christian community.
It’s Ministry
Christian Care Ministry is a not-for-profit ministry where the members make the rules— and their dollars don’t pay for procedures or treatments they find objectionable.
HOW TO USE MEDISHARE
- Streamlined processing:
– Members simply present their ID cards at the time of service and the providers submit the bills for discounting and consideration for sharing.
– Once the Annual Household Portion has been met, 100% of the eligible bills will be published to the members for sharing.
- When a medical accident or illness occurs (an example):
– Select a network provider. By using a network provider, you will benefit from the savings offered, including discounts for routine services.
– Show your MediShare ID card.
– Pay only your provider fee of $35 or $135 for an emergency room visit at the time of visit.
– Provider notifies and submits bill to Christian Care Ministry for processing and discounting.
– Bill is published for sharing, provided it is eligible and the Annual Household Portion (AHP) has been met.
– Shares from fellow members are used to pay your provider.
Here at Good Neighbor Insurance it is very important for us to connect with you.
As an international service provider, we want to be sure that you are taken care of while you, your family, and your friends are traveling or residing around the world. It is our honor to serve you!