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We use a direct medical expense sharing non-profit. Ours is called Samaritan but there are a few of them. Basically, every month we write a check for about $460

We use a direct medical expense sharing non-profit. Ours is called Samaritan but there are a few of them. Basically, every month we write a check for about $460 to another member, and the one time we had a hospital stay, we got a bunch of checks to cover the full amount. (It covers everything but $300, but if you negotiate the price down at all, the full amount is covered.) That's a family plan price and we were looking at 2-3 times that with a big out-of-pocket obligation on the Exchange. So far it's saved us about $10,000 and we really like the communal model. (Posting under an alt account to avoid giving out too much personal info)

vyrotek 10y ago
This is definitely a starting to become a popular option. I had just commented over in another thread about it https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13356900 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13356900 It's pretty affordable and the nicest part is most of these health shares are ACA exempt so you don't get hit by the fine of not having "normal" insurance. Do you use a Direct Primary Health provider to cover normal doctor visits and things? I'm a fan.
- samaritan1 10y ago
  Right now we just pay cash for the same doctors we would visit under insurance. I like the idea of direct care but our area of the country is slow to adopt a lot of things. Telehealth (paying $35-$40 for routine diagnoses and prescriptions) has saved us some money.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  Are there ones not run by religion? The health sharing plans I have seen require such things as belonging to a certain church and not drinking any alcohol.
  - samaritan1 10y ago
    I think they're all Christian, but I don't know any that require belonging to a specific church or totally abstaining from alcohol. I think they do all ban smoking habitually and getting drunk, though. And they all have a broad statement of faith and require participating in some kind of regular church/spiritual community.
mrfusion 10y ago
Is it hard to get the aca exception with these? Any risk of having to pay the penalty? Also is there any guruntee you wouldn't go bankrupt for a major medical issue? Are they very reliable?
- samaritan1 10y ago
  No issue getting the exception. These programs are explicitly mentioned in the ACA regulation and tax prep software supports them. No guarantees. You can't take anyone to court to make them pay your bills. However, if you don't make your monthly payment, you've effectively cancelled your membership and the person who was supposed to receive your check gets it from someone else so they're still made whole. Personally, I am more comfortable with the risk of a long-running voluntary system failing than I was with the risk of insurance deciding to screw me on coverage, accidentally getting out-of-network care, etc. But I looked into it for a couple of years before I reached that conclusion.

vyrotek 10y ago

This is definitely a starting to become a popular option. I had just commented over in another thread about it https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13356900 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13356900 It's pretty affordable and the nicest part is most of these health shares are ACA exempt so you don't get hit by the fine of not having "normal" insurance. Do you use a Direct Primary Health provider to cover normal doctor visits and things? I'm a fan.

samaritan1 10y ago
Right now we just pay cash for the same doctors we would visit under insurance. I like the idea of direct care but our area of the country is slow to adopt a lot of things. Telehealth (paying $35-$40 for routine diagnoses and prescriptions) has saved us some money.
brianwawok 10y ago
Are there ones not run by religion? The health sharing plans I have seen require such things as belonging to a certain church and not drinking any alcohol.
- samaritan1 10y ago
  I think they're all Christian, but I don't know any that require belonging to a specific church or totally abstaining from alcohol. I think they do all ban smoking habitually and getting drunk, though. And they all have a broad statement of faith and require participating in some kind of regular church/spiritual community.

mrfusion 10y ago

Is it hard to get the aca exception with these? Any risk of having to pay the penalty? Also is there any guruntee you wouldn't go bankrupt for a major medical issue? Are they very reliable?

samaritan1 10y ago
No issue getting the exception. These programs are explicitly mentioned in the ACA regulation and tax prep software supports them. No guarantees. You can't take anyone to court to make them pay your bills. However, if you don't make your monthly payment, you've effectively cancelled your membership and the person who was supposed to receive your check gets it from someone else so they're still made whole. Personally, I am more comfortable with the risk of a long-running voluntary system failing than I was with the risk of insurance deciding to screw me on coverage, accidentally getting out-of-network care, etc. But I looked into it for a couple of years before I reached that conclusion.