Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post Reply
User avatar
slipperyfish
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:55 pm
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
Contact:

Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by slipperyfish » Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:39 am

Has anyone participated in any of the Christian Insurance alternatives? My wife's work offers insurance but is very expensive and doesn't cover bills until the (high) deductible is paid. I like the idea of organizations like Samaritan Ministries( http://www.samaritanministries.org) but I don't know if they work well. Any good or bad experiences you share would be greatly appreciated.

BTW: I have been a Narrow Path lurker for many years but just never had a question. Guess I better go to the Introduction section and introduce myself.

Thank you,
Victor

User avatar
steve
Posts: 3392
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:45 pm

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by steve » Mon Nov 15, 2010 1:32 pm

Hey Slipperyfish,

Welcome to the forum!

I have not yet participated in a Christian healthcare alternative (nor in regular health insurance), but I have always believed that the former represent a much more biblical option than regular insurance. After all, the body of Christ should pool their resources to help those in their ranks who experience special, financially crushing, emergencies, and that is what these groups facilitate.

I have had the impression that these co-ops work really well, and have heard that they never have had a member's medical bills go unpaid—but that is hear-say, and I can't document that. It would be good to hear testimonials from any here who have had experience with them.

I may join one someday, and have not done so only because I have never really had the need for healthcare arise for myself or my family, and so I am not that attuned to the need at this point in my life. Another service like the one you mentioned is Medi-share.
Here are the websites:

http://mychristiancare.org/medi-share
http://www.samaritanministries.org

User avatar
slipperyfish
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:55 pm
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
Contact:

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by slipperyfish » Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:24 pm

...
but just never had a question.
Actually I should clarify. I've had lots of questions but someone always had asked it in the past.
Search is my friend:)

brotherskeeper
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 8:33 am

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by brotherskeeper » Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:19 am

I just joined this forum (2011) and saw your question. I'm sorry to say that my experience with Christian alternative insurance care was not a good one. I joined one that had been endorsed by Christian financial expert and radio host Larry Burkett about 12 or 13 yrs ago. It had had a good record then since the time it began, but little did I know that the founder was succumbing to the temptation of either directly defrauding subscribers himself or trusting the organization to someone who began defrauding subscribers. So when my first pregnancy resulted in a premature birth (28 weeks) , requiring 45 days of hospitalization for my baby, we ended up facing a $245K bill with no insurance due to the fraud that was occurring and being revealed...and our income was a sliver above what could have qualified us for Medicaid. The Lord eventually covered our bill 100%, but I wanted to share this personal experience story as a warning that any insurance organization, Christian or otherwise, --in fact, any organization--can fail due to human weakness. You need to make sure there are clearly placed accountability partners and/or recourse strategies in place. BTW, my baby is now a perfectly healthy 10 year old, thanks to the mercy and kindness of God.

Christiane
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:10 am

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by Christiane » Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:36 pm

Hi Brotherskeeper,
Contact us for a chat about what might be best health insurance for you and those you care about most. There’s no obligation and no stress, just open and honest advise and information to guide you make the best decisions for you and for your loved ones.



Qantum Capital
Last edited by Christiane on Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”

User avatar
steve
Posts: 3392
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:45 pm

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by steve » Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:59 pm

Hi Christiane,

PLease don't use the forum to solicit business. Thanks!

User avatar
mattrose
Posts: 1920
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:28 am
Contact:

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by mattrose » Wed Jul 10, 2013 10:40 pm

On this topic, though, I am now part of Christian medi-share. It is somewhat ideal for me since my options are soon to be pay a large fine for not having insurance, get insurance, or join medishare (which is not subject to the Obama mandate).

I pay something like $175/month. So, I will still be paying less than the 'fine,' but this way I actually might get some help if I need it.

User avatar
steve
Posts: 3392
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:45 pm

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by steve » Wed Jul 10, 2013 11:10 pm

It's great that Medi-share qualifies under Obamacare, because, even if you don't ever use or get anything out of the service, who would object to putting $175 a month toward some other Christian family's medical expenses? It seems all good.

User avatar
backwoodsman
Posts: 536
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:32 am
Location: Not quite at the ends of the earth, but you can see it from here.

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by backwoodsman » Wed Jul 10, 2013 11:36 pm

mattrose wrote:On this topic, though, I am now part of Christian medi-share.
Matt, can you give me a website for those guys? We need to look into this in the near future. Thanks.

User avatar
mattrose
Posts: 1920
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:28 am
Contact:

Re: Christian Health Care "Insurance."

Post by mattrose » Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:09 am

Steve actually had provided the link above, but here it is again
http://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/

I'll warn you though, that application process is somewhat lengthy (maybe they all are, I'm pretty ignorant and I don't like paper work). Also, a knock I've heard against medi-share is that their policy toward the overweight and with pre-existing conditions (though that is certainly their right).


And, Steve, yes... it was a no brainer for me. It is also sorta neat that they actually give you the name of the person your money went to help each month and ask you to say a prayer for them.

Post Reply

Return to “Giving/Tithing/Stewardship”