When I had Henry, we decided I would stay at home with him rather than continue working as an Orthodontist Assistant, which also meant that we lost our insurance.
We signed up with BCBS of TX for a catastrophe plan, the only one we could really afford as self-employed young-un’s: $10,000 deductible, and the only thing they would cover before the deductible was met was (ironically) vaccines. Every year our premium went up even though we never filed a claim, and when we had Miles it went up to $350/month, for insurance that had never paid anything for the 4 years that we were on it. When we decided to move to Tennessee we called BC to let them know.
“Just call when you get there and we will transfer your policy from TX to TN!” They said.
Ok, great. We had been good customers. A smooth transfer it would be.
Soon after we moved we discovered that we were pregnant with Etta. We had been continuing our TX policy until then and so called to do the easy transfer they had talked about. After calling, waiting on a call back, leaving a message, waiting, calling back….I finally got ahold of them.
“Oh, no.” They now said. ”It’s a whole new policy. You start from scratch. Oh, you’re pregnant? Oh, well, yeah, that’s gonna cost you $2600/month minimum. Just for you. It’s an additional $300/month for your husband and sons for a catastrophe plan for them.”
Oh. My. Holy crap Y’all.
We knew we couldn’t afford this. We also knew, from our insurance agent, that our $350/month policy would be going up to around $1800/mo once the Affordable Care Act went into effect, and once I was no longer pregnant. We now know that our plan would likely have been cancelled, forcing us to find another one after 5+ years without even filing a claim.
Knowing that we could not afford either $2900/month or $1800/month we started looking for options.
We had heard about Christian share programs but had dismissed them for one reason or another. We now decided to take a good look at them.
WHY DID WE NOT DO THIS SOONER?!
So. Amazing.
There are three that I know of:
Samaritan Ministries (the one we are with)
Christian Healthcare Ministries
Christian Care Medishare
Basically, these all work pretty much the same way:
Christian members pay each others’ medical bills
Every month I send $350 and a note of encouragement to another family to help cover their medical bills. It’s a very professional system, with every dollar accounted for. Our plan is the most expensive one as we have 2+ children but will remain this price even if we were to have 12 kids. The plans for singles, couples without children, and single parents are even more affordable.
There is no physical required for coverage, but a few companies offer a lower price for a BMI that puts you in a “healthy” category.
You need to fulfill a few requirements, based on the company you go with, but they are minimal. ie: can’t abuse alcohol (can use, just can’t abuse), can’t smoke, can’t be in a sexual relationship outside of marriage, need to be a regular church attender.
Rather than fighting on the phone with an Insurance agent over bills that they should be paying but aren’t (I know I’m not the only one to spend an entire lunch break on hold with a company who doesn’t seem to give two sh*ts about, well, anything) we send our check to a family or individual who needs it.
I LOVE that we are sending our money to other families, rather than a corrupt (in my opinion) company. I used to work on the insurance filing side of a dental office and I saw first hand the ridiculous hoops they put people through to avoid paying what they legally should pay.
I LOVE Samaritan for many reasons, here are a few:
1. They paid for part of my birth with Etta, even though I was pregnant when we joined!
2. They CALLED ME to inform me that they had received my claim, and “would I like the uncovered portion to be submitted as a ‘special prayer need?’ (meaning that people who would like to give extra to your situation, can do so.” Um, yes, yes I would.
3. They allowed me to start coverage even before receiving my check for our first month so that there would be no lapse (BCBS was canceling our TX plan.)
4. They don’t penalize you (charge more) for having more children.
5. They can’t raise your monthly premium unless all of the members vote to do so.
6. They don’t penalize you for getting older or getting sick.
7. They don’t fight you. At all. Ever. Your claims are paid, plain and simple as that.
8. When you call, you IMMEDIATELY get a real, live person who is kind, pleasant, helpful, knowledgeable…I could go on. I think I’ve been on “hold” with them once or twice for less than a minute while they found the answer to a question I had.
9. It fits the requirements for insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
10. They covered my prenatal vitamins and herbs (which are not eligible for tax write-off like prescription and OTC drugs are) as well as my home birth supplies.
Anyhow, we have already been compensated for Etta’s birth, and each check came with a sweet note or card from the member sending it. They even waived our deductible for our home-birth because they know that these result in statistically cheaper deliveries due to the lack of intervention and fewer emergency situations.
It is honestly the kindest, simplest, most pleasant “insurance” option I have ever dealt with.
I encourage you to check them out! Like I said, we are with Samaritan and I have some family and friends who are really happy with Medishare and CHM.
live well. be well.