It’s no secret that the current health insurance industry has become a swirling mess of confusion and frustration for many. Up until a few years ago, my family had decent health insurance that cost about a whopping $25,000 per year! It was easy to use; just pay the premium and copay and everything was taken care of. However, the insurance company became increasingly picky, denying our claims and making us resubmit requests (some claims were resubmitted 3 times before they would pay them). It became a headache and we were paying them so much money.
We rarely went to the doctor because we were all healthy and active. But, in case something big happened, I didn’t want my family to be without coverage.
Due to the Affordable Care Act, our premium was about to jump up even higher! So I began to do some research to see what options were available. Someone told me about some different Christian medical sharing programs. I was curious but also hesitant to go that direction because I felt like it wasn’t backed by anything. What if we were diagnosed with cancer or something that required long term care? What if one of us had a really large medical expense? Would they be able to cover it? But because of the huge savings, it was hard not to at least take a look at them. I was also attracted by the philosophy of Christians caring for other Christians.
I evaluated 3 of the Christian sharing companies. The prices were all significantly lower than our current insurance plan. I asked around for recommendations from friends and found that some were with Christian Care Medi-Share. I found that the Medi-Share community had covered the medical expenses of those who had significant medical bills, and that a bill had never been denied. This made me a lot more confident about it protecting our family.
So, my wife and I decided to enroll in Medi-Share. Not long after joining Medi-Share, we found out that my wife was pregnant, with twins! We were very excited, but a delivery of twins in a hospital was a big expense. The pregnancy went smoothly but during the delivery there were complications that required an emergency c-section and our son was not breathing when delivered and they had to resuscitate him. He was rushed by an emergency helicopter to a larger and more equipped hospital, with a nearly two week stay in the Neonatal Intensive Unit. We praise God that He graciously allowed for a full recovery.
All said and done, we received medical bills from this delivery in excess of $600,000! Through negations with the hospitals, we were able to lower our bills to about $20,000, which the Medi-Share community paid in full.
Over this past year, we have had more serious medical events than in our lifetime. Two of our sons had life threatening illnesses that required hospital stays of a week, along with expensive helicopter transfers to more equipped hospitals. Another son also had a broken arm that required surgery. In total, we’ve received additional medical bills in excess of $500,000. All of these expenses have been shared in by the Medi-Share community.
After experiencing these past few years of medical expenses in excess of $1,100,000, I can confidently say that this program works and will cover the worst of scenarios.
I praise God that He has been gracious to us, allowing our children to all have have full recoveries. I’m also very thankful for this community that has cared for us through these trials through prayer and financial provision.
Requirements: You need to be a Christian who doesn’t abuse alcohol, use illegal drugs and a few other reasonable requirements.
Benefits of Medi-Share:
1. A Better Stewardship of God’s Money – I feel like paying a premium of $3,600 a year with a $10,000 deductible (a total maximum cost of $13,600 and minimum cost of $3,600) is being a much better steward of God’s money then giving an insurance company $25,000 no matter if I ever go to the doctor. (A premium of $3,600 a year with a $10,000 deductible is just my current cost for my family of 6. There are various options available based on age and deductible levels.)
2. The Care of Brothers and Sisters in Christ – We receive personalized letters from other members who tell us that they are praying for us. And we can send letters of encouragement to others.
3. Representatives who ask how to Pray for Needs – Whenever I call the Medi-Share office they always end the call by asking if they can pray for us and ask for specific requests.
4. Courteous and caring representatives – It’s So Much Nicer than Talking with Someone from an Insurance Company – Its not fun waiting on hold forever just to end up talking to some grumpy agent. It’s so much nicer talking with believers who want to help and in whom the love of God shines in their speech and actions.
5. If you save Medi-Share money by asking hospitals for a reduced bill, then Medi-Share waves your premium for a particular amount of time. For us, since we saved them such a large amount of money through negotiation, they waved our premium for an entire year!
6. Medi-Share is compliant with the Affordable Care Act requirements for insurance, although not technically insurance.
Challenges of Medi-Share:
1. Changing over from standard medical insurance took some adjustment. There is a little more work that members are expected to do like calling hospitals and asking for a reduction on their bills. Once I realized that this was part of my responsibility, then it wasn’t a big deal. In my opinion, the benefits outweigh this inconvenience. I do wish it was a little better spelled out in the beginning so that it didn’t feel like such a huge adjustment on my part.
2. It requires some record keeping. This can simply be done with excel or even in a notepad.
3. It does not cover certain preexisting conditions prior to signing up. For example, if you have cancer, or your cancer has been in remission for a short time, then Medi-Share may not cover related expenses until a certain amount of time passes.
So, in summary, if you are looking for something other than insurance, if you want to save money, and you are a Christian that wants to care for other Christians, then I would highly recommend Medi-Share.
You can find out more about Medi-Share by clicking on this refer a friend link: Medi-Share.
