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Not to pour cold water on you or anyone this is working for, but since this can read as a recommendation, it's worth pointing out a few things. This is another

Not to pour cold water on you or anyone this is working for, but since this can read as a recommendation, it's worth pointing out a few things. This is another form of insurance. It's arguably a distinct model for it than a conventional insurance company, but it's a way of addressing the same fundamental set of problems, so it's subject to the same realities and dynamics any insurance solution is. So... why would it be so much cheaper? Possible answers include no profit overhead, freedom from regulation might allow administrators to find efficiencies. And for some programs, particularly long-running ones tied to tightly-knit communities invested in taking care of everyone inside, perhaps it more or less works that way. Possible answers also include basically everything you worried about conventional private insurers doing pre-ACA: avoiding expensive obligations through various exclusions, bureaucratic obstruction, or selectivity in adding people to the shared-cost pool. There's also the risk that for the given fees it's actually not going to work out for some HCSMs once they hit the wrong group roll of the health-event dice. This is not to say it won't work out for you. It's worked out for some communities for a long time and may go well. Just be aware that it's also possible that the reason you're paying less is that you're not getting the same kind of backstop. Further reading: * https://www.buzzfeed.com/lauraturner/christian-health-care https://www.buzzfeed.com/lauraturner/christian-health-care * https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/07/a-christian-alternative-to-health-insurance/260112/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/07/a-christi... * https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christian-health-ministry-obamacare_us_5a9d66fee4b0a0ba4ad6754b https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christian-health-minist... * https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/opinion/sunday/onward-christian-health-care.html https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/opinion/sunday/onward-chr... * https://obamacarefacts.com/healthcare-sharing-ministry-exemptions/ https://obamacarefacts.com/healthcare-sharing-ministry-exemp...

judah 9y ago
It's not insurance. They disclose this on their own site[0]. When you go to the hospital, you disclose that. "I don't have health insurance, I am self-paid with a health sharing ministry." I think another major reason is that health sharing ministries don't typically cover pre-existing conditions. That is huge; acquiring health insurance for a pre-existing condition is like buying house insurance after your home has already burned down. Another reason the cost is lower is that, unlike nationwide healthcare, we're a self-maintaining community. You abide by the communities standards -- which tend to decrease disease -- and you remain in the community. But if you break the community standards, and engage in medically-risky behavior, you're removed from the community. This works great for smaller groups with shared values. It cannot work in nationwide healthcare. And it's a big reason the cost is so much lower. [0]: www.chministries.org/downloads/newsletters/CHMApril2013.pdf

judah 9y ago

It's not insurance. They disclose this on their own site[0]. When you go to the hospital, you disclose that. "I don't have health insurance, I am self-paid with a health sharing ministry." I think another major reason is that health sharing ministries don't typically cover pre-existing conditions. That is huge; acquiring health insurance for a pre-existing condition is like buying house insurance after your home has already burned down. Another reason the cost is lower is that, unlike nationwide healthcare, we're a self-maintaining community. You abide by the communities standards -- which tend to decrease disease -- and you remain in the community. But if you break the community standards, and engage in medically-risky behavior, you're removed from the community. This works great for smaller groups with shared values. It cannot work in nationwide healthcare. And it's a big reason the cost is so much lower. [0]: www.chministries.org/downloads/newsletters/CHMApril2013.pdf