If you’re like many Christians, you may be looking for a healthcare alternative in the midst of recent healthcare reform changes. You may be confused and concerned about the changes to your policy’s rates, deductible or and coverage limitations. Maybe you’ve lost access to one of your favorite doctors. Perhaps you don’t feel comfortable paying for coverage for procedures and treatments that conflict with your Christian beliefs. Whatever the cause of your concern about health insurance, you can rest assured that there are alternatives out there, such as a medical sharing program like Medi-Share, that is acceptable under the Affordable Care Act.
The Difference Between Insurance and Christian Medical Sharing
One of the most popular alternatives for Christians is a concept known as healthcare sharing, or medical bill sharing. Healthcare sharing, allows Christians to share their financial healthcare burdens with other like-minded believers. While healthcare sharing is a program designed to help you manage health care costs, it is not health insurance. Rather, it’s a group of members sharing in each other’s medical bills. The difference may seem subtle, but it’s important.
Although insurance is also based on the idea of a group of people sharing medical costs, it is done through a third party: the insurance company. Individuals pay premiums that go into the insurance company’s pool of funds. The individual then submits claims whenever they have a medical expense and the insurance company either approves or denies those claims. The claims are then paid out of the company’s pool of funds.
Christian medical sharing through Christian Care Ministry’s Medi-Share program is different, as Christian Care Ministry (CCM) facilitates the sharing of funds directly between the group’s members. Some dollars are allocated for administrative expenses, but member contributions are not deposited into a separate pool of funds; instead, they are shared directly with other members.
The Principle of Healthcare Sharing is Rooted in the Bible
Supporting and caring for others is a central tenet in Christianity. As a faithful Christian, you embrace the idea that all Christians should care for and share each other’s burdens; why not practically apply that belief in all aspects of your life?
Medi-Share, our Christian healthcare sharing program, is another way to help your fellow Christians and live out the word of God in the form of healthcare and financial support.
The roots of healthcare sharing can be traced back to the Bible:
• John 3:16 – 18 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth.”
• Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
• Deuteronomy 15:10 “Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.”
• Hebrews 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
• Acts 4:32 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.”
Christianity is built on this idea of supporting others and selflessly giving to those who are in need. Christian medical sharing is an easy way to meet your family’s healthcare needs, while supporting others at the same time. Since your contributions are shared directly with other members, you know that your funds are used to help another Christian in need.
Our Christian Medical Sharing Program: Medi-Share
Medi-Share is one of the country’s largest Christian healthcare sharing programs. Members say that one of the reasons they enjoy being a part of Medi-Share is their ability to support other Christians. Medi-Share ensures that all of its members live according to Christian ideals and beliefs by requiring that new members meet certain criteria.
These criteria include:
• A verifiable Christian testimony that demonstrates the potential member’s relationship with Christ
• Regular attendance at and support for a fellowship or ministry of believers
• Adherence to a lifestyle that is consistent with Christian beliefs
• Believe in the idea that Christians should share each other’s burdens
• Believe in the idea that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and should be treated as such
Additionally, potential new members must meet the following criteria:
• They must not engage in sexual activity outside of a Christian marriage
• They must not use tobacco or illegal drugs. They also cannot abuse alcohol or illegal drugs
• They must be a United States citizen or a legal permanent resident with a Social Security number
Christians Supporting Other Christians
Christian medical sharing also resolves an issue that many Christians face when using health insurance. Health insurance plans are increasingly providing coverage for conditions related to lifestyle choices or procedures that go against our faith and moral code. Many Christians aren’t comfortable paying premiums that could eventually be used to cover such treatments.
Medi-Share members often say that they feel more comfortable making their monthly contribution than they did paying traditional health insurance premiums. One of the biggest reasons is because they know their funds are going to support other believers and not to pay for treatments and lifestyles that are not in line with their Christians values.
Christian Medical Sharing Provides More Than Solely Financial Support
Medi-Share members also support each other in non-financial ways. They can participate in an online community called PrayerStream, which takes the power of prayer worldwide through an online platform. Anyone can log on to PrayerStream and post requests for prayers, notes of encouragement, praise reports, and prayers for others. It’s an effective way to take your private prayers and share them with a community of thousands, thus multiplying the number of prayers in support of an individual in need.
Because of the way the Medi-Share program works, it functions as a community instead of a healthcare plan. The program is based on the idea of members helping like-minded members. Members know who received their share each month so they may include those individuals in their prayers. That community aspect is one of the reasons that healthcare sharing programs are so popular. Members know that their contributions aren’t going to the bottom line of an insurance company, but rather to a fellow member.
Christian support extends beyond the Medi-Share members. Many members say that they receive support from Christian Care Ministry staff every time they call into the administrative offices. CCM is a Christian organization from top to bottom; that includes staff as well as members. One member said that after calling the CCM office for a simple administrative issue, she was pleasantly surprised that the representative ended the call with a prayer for her and her family’s well-being.
Other members have commented that the CCM representatives often ask not just about their healthcare needs but also about their well-being in general. Members have said they’ve prayed with CCM representatives over things like business challenges, family and relationship issues and their personal relationship with God.
Find Out the Benefits of Christian Medical Sharing For Yourself
The Medi-Share Christian medical sharing program is more than just health care; it’s a community of believers praying for each other and lifting each other up, just as God instructs us to do in the Bible. By sharing selflessly with one another, we can carry out God’s vision and deepen our relationship with Him. Learn more about Medi-Share today to find out if our healthcare sharing program is the right choice for you and your family.
