Post: #1

Quick background - 40, good shape, no preexisting medical conditions, and self employed in the US. Obamacare has been a complete disaster for me. Before Obamacare I could get a high deductible plan (5K or so) for about $100 month. I rarely go to the doctor, live an active lifestyle and still play sports, so I'd like to have some kind of insurance in case I'm hit by the proverbial bus. Over the last 4 years my monthly premiums for a shitty bronze plan w/a $7k deductible have gone from $180 to $220 to $280 and I just got notice they want to ring me up for $348 next year. This is fucking insane. I make too much money to not have insurance because the fine will be too much money. I'm looking now at health sharing ministries. Christian Health Care Ministries and Samaritan Ministries seem to be the two biggest. My monthly premium would be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 of my Obamacare plan, depending on which plan I choose. I could basically get top notch 'insurance' w/a 500 deductible and no max for $200/month, or get a lower level plan for closer to $100 month. Joining both of these would also allow me an exemption from Obamacare w/the IRS. Does anyone on the forum have any experience with these??

Post: #2

No experience with either of these but I feel your pain, when I was self employed for years I dont know how I made it through with almost nonexistent coverage. Probably one of the least discussed areas of being self employed, because it sucks so bad. Interested to hear any contributions to the thread.

Post: #3

also interested in this! Is it as good as they claim on their web?

Post: #4

Here's a link to pricing for one of the major ones - the Silver plan is $85/month with a 1k deductible, then for another $40/quarter I can get the "My Brothers Keeper" catastrophic coverage - basically $100 per month, although I think my max benefit would be capped at $125k.

https://www.chministries.org/programs.aspx

It doesnt pay for things like out of wedlock pregnancy and drug/alcohol rehab since those arent Christian values, but thats more then fine with me.

Post: #5

I just got one for $150/month. I'm self employed now so didn't want to pay fucking Obamacare. I haven't used it yet but like you, I'm healthy and don't plan on using the benefits much. Really it's SHTF insurance in case I break a leg or something.

Post: #6

Use one for my family. Would highly recommend.

Post: #7

I have this same health share, had it for about 3 months for myself and my kids. I went from paying 1000/month just for my kids (I went uninsured for a good part of the year because with me on it, my premium would have been 1800/month) to 300/ month along with that brother's keeper 50/qtr extra to get up to 1 million in coverage. Haven't had to use it yet but the peace of mind it gives me for such a reasonable cost makes it a winner so far for me.

https://www.chministries.org/

Post: #8

They're not hard to use. The main difference is that they shift the hassle "up front" because instead of just giving the hospital your insurance info you have to collect bills, try to get the cash discount yourself up front, and then once you've done the first line of negotiations you send it over to the ministry and they handle the rest.

Vs. an insurance company where they handle it up front and you get to fight them about refusing to pay for things later.

Post: #9

Great info on this thread so far - definitely going to pull the trigger and am thrilled to get out of the Obamacare nonsense!

Post: #10

Me and my Fam have almost 6 years of experience with medishare. I would never go back. Our experience has not been perfect, but it has been 10x better than any standard insurance company we had dealt with before. Go for it. As much as I don't like saying it the 'health sharing ministries' exemption is one thing obama did right.

We may switch to liberty health share at the turn of the year - check them out, they should save us even more. Sounds like you are single - we are a four person family, numbers would be different.

I am happy to share any details via pm, if anyone has any questions.

Post: #11

Had chministries for a while. Never had to use them but no complaints either. Very good reviews from my research though

Post: #12

Someone I know was set on going with the familiar bronze Obamacare plan with HSA which cost them about $400/month last year and about $300 the previous year. This year, the cheapest comparable plan for them is about $800 monthly for a $5000+ deductible, coinsurance, etc. Thanks, Obama.

I pointed them to investigate sharing ministries...they still want something similar to a traditional insurance (deductible per year, not per incident)...I think they're looking at Christian Care, maybe Liberty, if they can get over the complicated financial structure.

Any suggestions from those of you with experience? Is it a hassle to get paid back? Anything to look out for? Which ones take care of the doctor billing by themselves as opposed to making you play secretary?

Post: #13

(11-07-2017 11:06 PM)polar Wrote:  Someone I know was set on going with the familiar bronze Obamacare plan with HSA which cost them about $400/month last year and about $300 the previous year. This year, the cheapest comparable plan for them is about $800 monthly for a $5000+ deductible, coinsurance, etc. Thanks, Obama.

I pointed them to investigate sharing ministries...they still want something similar to a traditional insurance (deductible per year, not per incident)...I think they're looking at Christian Care, maybe Liberty, if they can get over the complicated financial structure.

Any suggestions from those of you with experience? Is it a hassle to get paid back? Anything to look out for? Which ones take care of the doctor billing by themselves as opposed to making you play secretary?

I've decided I'm definitely going to go this route - I just havent decided which one yet. I really need to take an hour and do a spreadsheet analysis of all of them - , premiums, deductibles, etc. Here's a link to an article that I found helpful:


https://clubthrifty.com/healthcare-sharing-ministries/

Post: #14

If anyone is interested in CH Ministries or is about to sign up, send me a PM.

If you've been a member here long enough with a good enough paper trail on your posts to be reputable I'll send you what you need to list me as a referral. That helps me out since it means I get a month free.

Not that I feel bad about that since it's a mutually beneficial arrangement. The service is great and much better to deal with than the steaming pile that Obamacare is.

Post: #15

At the beginning of 2017 I was paying $370/month for Obamacare and I thought about it and said fuck that after paying two months. I then switched to one of those short term healthcare plans and it was around $75/month but sadly the government issued a new law preventing those from lasting more than 3 months. So in May I started looking into the healthcare ministries things and joined CH Ministries. I have the cheapest plan plus an add on and pay about $55/month. I haven't had any claims so I don't know about that part of it but I am enjoying paying significantly less for a thing I don't even use.

I like that, at least for CHM, they will pay claims on health cost incurred overseas while I believe normal health plans will not. Also many of the healthcare ministries qualify as a health insurance alternative so we don't have to pay the Obamacare penalty for not having insurance.

Post: #16

(11-10-2017 06:15 PM)Easy_C Wrote:  If anyone is interested in CH Ministries or is about to sign up, send me a PM.

If you've been a member here long enough with a good enough paper trail on your posts to be reputable I'll send you what you need to list me as a referral. That helps me out since it means I get a month free.

Not that I feel bad about that since it's a mutually beneficial arrangement. The service is great and much better to deal with than the steaming pile that Obamacare is.

I may be doing that soon - I've done some research and I can get a silver plan which has a $1000 deductible for $85/per month. Tack on the my brothers keeper so I get an extra $100k of coverage (up to 225k per incident) and my total is about $100 per month, compared to the $350 for the cheapest shitty bronze obamacare plan w/a 7k deductible. Honestly I wish I would have done this last year.

Post: #17

I'm doing research on whether losing coverage under a healthcare sharing ministry mid-year is a qualifying event for a special enrollment period under Healthcare.Gov. Based on the following link, it is a valid exemption.

https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-to...g-ministry

Post: #18

(11-22-2017 02:59 PM)polar Wrote:  I'm doing research on whether losing coverage under a healthcare sharing ministry mid-year is a qualifying event for a special enrollment period under Healthcare.Gov. Based on the following link, it is a valid exemption.

https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-to...g-ministry

I actually stopped paying my Obamacare premium and am moving to a ministry for Dec of this year. Feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders and am happy to be free of the Obamacare costs before 2018.

Post: #19

I have a preexisting condition and don't want to lose my current doctors. Is this accepted at most doctors?

Post: #20

Most of the sharing ministries will likely exclude preexisting conditions, especially if you've needed treatment in the last threeish years.

Post: #21

Knell, you need to read their terms and conditions carefully. If in doubt, call and ask. Their phone staff are knowledgeable and helpful.

You can keep your doctor's, you just have to tell them that you're paying cash and will need a cash discount and an invoice. Depending on your credit, you might be able to keep an open "account" with your doctors, submit the bill to the ministry, wait for $$$, profit or we'll pay off your outstanding balance at your doctor.

Next time you're at your doctor ask how much the whole bill would be if you paid in cash with no insurance. You might be surprised!