Medi-Share Review: Alternative To Health Insurance For Christians

According to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation, average annual health insurance premiums for individuals was $7,470 in 2020. Family premiums ran over $21,000.

If your employer pays for most (or all) of your health insurance, then you likely didn’t know about the high cost of insurance. But if you’re self-employed or don’t have employer-sponsored coverage, you know just how much that huge bill can hurt.

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

What Is Medi-Share?

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

This exemption used to be financially valuable as it allowed Medi-Share members to avoid penalties. However, there are no longer financial penalties associated with the failure to own health insurance. As of writing, Medi-Share has over 400,000 members who have shared more than $2.6 billion in medical costs.

How Do Members Share Health Costs?

While Medi-Share is not health insurance, it functions much the same way that health insurance does. Members are still required to make a monthly payment that Medi-Share calls a "portion" rather than premium. 

The portion amount depends on age, marital status, and the number of people joining (such as children, spouses, etc.). For a single 26-year-old, a monthly portion ranges from $107 to $280. The site has a pricing calculator available.

If you incur medical costs such as a broken bone, having a baby, or a necessary surgery, you're responsible for a provider fee ($35 for standard doctor visits and $200 for emergency room visits). The bill is then submitted to Medi-Share (Christian Care Ministries) for negotiation and discounts.

As a member, you're responsible to pay the bill up to the point of your annual household portion (AHP). The AHP ranges from $3,000 to $12,000 and varies based on your monthly payments. Any bills above your AHP are shared by the network.

Is Medi-Share Affordable?

If you receive health insurance through work, or you’re eligible for health insurance premium credits through Healthcare.gov, you're unlikely to save a lot of money using Medi-Share. When you add the costs of primary care and the costs of the monthly premiums and the annual household portion, it’s tough to see you coming out ahead.

However, if you’re a higher income earner and you’re self-employed, Medi-Share could help you save hundreds of dollars per month. That is particularly true if you’re healthy and rarely need any type of medical care. Additionally, once your AHP is met, Medi-Share members share 100% of the costs associated with your care (assuming your expenses meet eligibility criteria).

Will Medi-Share Cover My Claim?

Medi-Share does not operate under a claims model. Since it's not insurance, medical bills need to be deemed eligible for sharing. Most medical costs are deemed eligible.

However, Medi-Share has a long list of conditions that aren’t eligible for sharing. Some of the most notable exceptions include:

Pre-existing conditions are also only eligible for coverage after a member has been consistently sharing for at least 36 months. Even so, you'll have a $100,000 share limit. Once you've been sharing for at least 60 months, your coverage limit for pre-existing conditions increases to $500,000.

Most of the time Medi-Share will meet the needs of its members. However, if you’re someone who may want any of the services above, it may not make sense to try to engage with Medi-Share.

How Does Primary Care Work With Medi-Share?

Unlike with normal insurance, primary care coverage isn’t typically covered by Medi-Share. However, there are exceptions such as well-child visits up to the age of six and one annual physical per member.

Since members must pay for most preventive services out of pocket, Medi-Share recommends that members use a doctor within its PPO network (which includes over 900,000 providers nationwide) to find the best deal possible. Medi-Share also provides free telehealth for its members.

My Experience With Medi-share

I used Medi-Share for a brief period when I earned too much to be eligible for health insurance premium tax credit and also didn’t have access to 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 intense medical care in the upcoming year.

During the year, I paid for dental care, a telehealth visit (which wasn’t covered at that time), and an inexpensive prescription ($9 per month). I qualified for a healthy living discount and I didn't need to seek medical care. My husband who had pre-existing conditions and my kids were covered by his student health insurance.

Overall, I enjoyed being a member of Medi-Share. I liked the ability to share encouraging notes with some of the featured members. However, I was eager to get back onto a normal health insurance plan. I found that it was difficult to find a primary care physician who would accept me as a patient. That may have changed since Medi-Share’s provider network seems much bigger today than it was even four years ago.

Is It Worth It?

I think Medi-Share offers a unique medical sharing cost structure. Christian people who have a specific conviction against holding standard health insurance should certainly look into Medi-Share or any of the other health care sharing ministries (there are currently 9 with widespread open enrollment options).

Aside from those with specific religious convictions, Medi-Share could be a good fit for individuals or families who can't find inexpensive health insurance that fits their needs. For example, self-employed people may find significant savings by opting out of health insurance and into health-sharing ministries. Nomadic freelancers who can't easily qualify for state-specific insurance may find that Medi-Share (or health care sharing generally) makes more sense for their lifestyle.

Because Medi-Share has stringent guidelines regarding faith, I recommend that potential members look carefully through the lifestyle and faith guidelines for members. If you don't agree with all the member requirements, you may want to look a non-faith-based health care sharing program like Knew Health or an alternative self-employed health insurance provider like Sidecar Health.

Medi-Share Features