If you’re considering joining Christian Healthcare Ministries, please use my referral link.
Insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed in recent years. It’s not uncommon to have a family premium of $900 with a deductible in the 8-10 thousand dollar range. That means you could spend nearly 20 thousand dollars a year before getting any significant benefit from your health insurance.
After our third child was born, my wife quit her job with a large bank and we were forced to find new health insurance. I looked over my employer’s options and realized not only was the cost astronomical for little to no benefit except in the case of a catastrophic event, due to the structure of these plans, a Health Savings Account wasn’t even an option. With all this considered I determined it wasn’t financially wise to allocate so much money every month.
I scoured the internet for other health insurance options, but only found similarly priced plans. One day, while listening to Dave Ramsey’s show, I heard a commercial for Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM) and immediately started to investigate. I found that it was a healthcare cost-sharing organization that qualified as an acceptable alternative to health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
After researching a variety of similar health shares, I realized that CHM was the best option for my family and would provide the best overall benefits. We’ve now been using CHM for nearly 4 years and have had thousands of dollars of healthcare costs shared by CHM.
How does Christian Healthcare Ministries Work?
CHM was founded in 1981 and has shared nearly $5 billion in medical bills. Nearly 40 years of bill sharing is an incredible track record. It’s important to note that CHM is NOT insurance.
“CHM is a membership-based, nonprofit ministry through which hundreds of thousands of Christians voluntarily share to pay each other’s medical bills.”
Three Plans to Choose From
Screenshot from chminstries.org
The cost can vary from $78 per month up to $172 per month per unit. A unit is one adult or all of the children in a family. For example, a typical family is 3 units. 1 unit for each adult and 1 unit to cover all the children regardless of number.
The bronze and silver plans are $78 and $118 per unit respectively and have per-incident deductibles of $5000 and $2500. These can be great options if you’re healthy and have very few costs. These may be especially attractive if you’re single. If you’re married, whether with or without children, I recommend the Gold plan which is $172 per unit and has a $500 threshold for full coverage of an illness.
Costs for a single medical condition typically cap out at 125K, but you can add an optional extra called “Brother’s Keeper” which provides unlimited sharing under the Gold Plan and a 100K per year increase under the other plans.
For my family, I have three units at the Gold level for $516 plus the addition of Brother’s Keeper which works out to approximately an additional $48 per month for my family bringing my monthly total cost to around $564.
The “Brother’s Keeper” program is actually very interesting because the cost will fluctuate based on the needs of the other members in the program. Meaning, if there are more people needing coverage above 125K, you may pay a bit more or you could pay a bit less. Knowing that the few extra dollars you pay go to paying necessary bills for other people, is actually kind of refreshing.
How does a Health Share Actually Work?
On the gold plan, if you have a single medical illness/incident that has a total cost over $500 then the entire cost is covered. If the total cost to treat an illness is less than $500, you just pay for it out of pocket.
Here are a couple of examples of the way CHM has worked for us over the past 4 years:
When our last child was born since the total cost was over $500, the entire cost of having the baby was covered. This includes every visit with the OB, all the ultrasounds, testing, hospital bills, and follow-up visits after delivery. We literally paid nothing out of pocket to have a baby. Not only that, a few months after the baby arrived, we received a phone call from CHM congratulating us on the birth of our new child. How many insurance companies have called to congratulate you when they have to spend money on your care?
Another example that comes up periodically is when our children get sick and require an office visit and sometimes a medication. The total cost for this is typically around $50. Since this cost is less than $500 it is paid by us and is not shared by CHM.
What do you do when you Need Medical Care?
When you go to receive medical care, you inform them that you do not have health insurance and that you are cash pay. You can also inform them that you are a member of CHM as many providers are familiar with the program. You request cash pay discounts and shop around a bit to get the best price possible. If the cost is low, then paying at the time of service is typically advised. If the cost is high, you may ask the provider to bill you or put you on a payment plan. If the bills are very expensive, CHM will call and negotiate the bills on your behalf. Ultimately, you submit all the bills to CHM and get reimbursed with a check about 75-90 days later.
Some Things to Consider
CHM does not stop anyone from joining regardless of medical history. However, they do handle sharing for pre-existing conditions in a specific manner. If you have a condition that is actively being treated, that condition may not qualify for sharing initially so check their guidelines to see if there are any conflicts for you. If you have a condition that doesn’t qualify for sharing initially, you may be able to list your needs on the “Prayer Page” that comes out monthly. On this page, CHM members can donate specifically to meet these needs. I’ve seen tens of thousands of dollars donated directly to people in this situation.
CHM reserves the right to not share medical expenses that are a result of going against biblical principles.
“CHM members follow biblical principles with respect to the use of alcohol and abstain from practices inconsistent with a biblical lifestyle, including (but not limited to) illegal drugs, tobacco, nicotine, any smoking device (including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, herbal cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vape pens, etc.), and sexual immorality (as defined in the Scriptures and expressed in CHM’s Statements of Beliefs).”
Some things I love about CHM
Unlike many health insurance plans, you can choose any provider you’d like. This way you can research and find the best care possible without concern for “coverage”.
You can be confident that your bills will be shared since CHM has been serving for nearly 40 years and has shared more than 5 billion dollars in medical expenses.
You can be confident knowing that your monthly contribution is not going to line the pockets of insurance company executives.
Based on my experiences using CHM, I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for an affordable alternative to health insurance. My family’s experience has been wonderful with no issues to report at this time.
How to Join CHM
If you’re considering joining Christian Healthcare Ministries, please use my referral link.
View my video review of Christian Healthcare Ministries Here:
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