We believe that people who are not provided health insurance and can't afford it shouldn't be further punished with fines and other penalties. Fortunately, there is no longer a nationwide health insurance mandate. 

I've recently learned that there are certain states that do still have health insurance mandates, however. As of the time of writing, it appears that the states with mandatory health insurance are:

• California
• New Jersey
• Massachusetts
• Vermont
• Rhode Island

The District of Columbia also requires individual health insurance. In each of these states besides Vermont, membership in a healthcare sharing ministry appears to be a fully recognized exemption.

We've talked before about Medi-Share and Maternity and I wanted to give a current update on this important topic.

My wife recently gave birth to our second child. We did a home birth with midwives, and as a slight aside, I would highly recommend considering that route if you anticipate a low-risk pregnancy. Home births are more comfortable, treat pregnancy/birth as a significant family event rather than a purely medical one, have lower c-section rates, and tend to be much less expensive. 

Whether you choose to consider the home birth option or go the traditional hospital route, the process is similar in terms of billing.

You begin by letting Medi-Share know that the mother is pregnant.

Medi-Share sends you a Maternity Packet and sets up a call to discuss any questions you have on how billing works.

As you go along, bills are sent directly to Medi-Share. This includes blood work, ultrasounds, and the global bill at the end.

They negotiate the best discount they can, and you'll then receive a bill for the remainder if you're under your AHP (deductible). Otherwise they pay the bill for you.

The baby is automatically a member from birth so long as the parents are members. The only thing you need to do is fill out a form at some point in the month after the birth. 

The amount you pay per month will increase if it's your first child, and usually stay the same if it's your second or more child. 

I've talked elsewhere in this blog about Medi-Share's negotiation of discounts for member bills, and it's impressive. All bills show up as soon as Medi-Share receives them in your online member's portal. The bill below is an example. It's for a lot of the early blood tests including a Complete Blood Count from Quest Diagnostics which is part of the PHCS network. 

Reader James S. of Pensacola, FL was kind enough to write in telling me his family joined Medi-Share at the start of this year after seeing our main Medi-Share review. He writes:

"So far everything went very smooth. We get to see all our same doctors in-network. Our deductible is high but that means we pay something like $2000/month less than we would with Obamacare insurance. Plus Medi Share lowered most of the bills we've gotten by at least half just like you said."

Besides this great report about his Medi-Share experience, he also asked me about a quote from Senator Rand Paul. I hadn't seen it before but was immediately interested as I'm a fan of both Dr. Rand Paul and his father Dr. Ron Paul. Both are conservative men of faith who are also doctors and significantly more qualified to speak about health and medicine than the average DC politician.

While it comes from a couple of years ago, Sen. Paul's quote is particularly apt today. He says:

"That's why I am big on these buying plans. You know there are Christian organizations where people join together. I think it's Medi-share—join together and they get cheaper prices. I want everybody in America to have access to something like that."

​The article says he wants more competition and for consumers to be king again. These are both vital goals. If you go to a mechanic, you can find out exactly how much something will cost beforehand. They compete for your business and reviews. It should be the same with healthcare. Doctors need to compete for our business.

Health being most important is an argument for competition rather than against it. And Dr. Paul sees Christian healthcare sharing ministries such as Medi-Share as being vital in this process of putting the power back in the consumer's hands.​

10. Free 24/7 Doctors Appointments. This is a tremendous perk of membership. Even if you pay less than $50 a month as a member,  you still get access to free online phone/webcam doctor appointments that are available almost instantly.

So, for example, if you need antibiotics on a Saturday night for your toddler, you can easily and conveniently make an appointment to get this prescription called in to your pharmacy at no cost.

9. Discounts on Bills. Even if you're below your AHP (the Annual Household Portion works like a deductible), so long as you're in-network, Medi-Share will negotiate the largest discount they can on your bills -- which I can tell you from experience is often 70% or more.

8. Customer Service. Calling in and want to speak to a human? You can usually reach a member of Medi-Share's customer service team within a minute or two of dialing. They're also almost always both friendly and knowledgeable.

For slightly more detail on how they accomplish these short wait times, take a look here.

7. No Preliminary Approval. An under-rated benefit of Medi-Share membership is that you don't need prior approval for a procedure to have it eligible for sharing. In our case, saving these weeks of delay was vital for treating our daughter's plagiocephaly.

6. Vision and Dental. Discounts are now available for both as part of membership. Here is a short post with more on vision, dental and prescriptions.

5. The Vast Number of In-Network Doctors and Specialists. The PHCS Network of doctors and specialists is mammoth. The vast majority of doctors accept it, and it's almost always easy to find the type of doctor you're looking for in your area.

4. Online Portal. You can see recently submitted medical bills, book an online doctor's appointment, find a close-by in-network doctor, or do almost anything else just by logging in to the excellently designed Member's Center.

To see a live look in the Member's Center, take a look at our Medi-Share Review Video.

3. Mobile App. Related, download the Medi-Share App for your iPhone or Android phone and do almost all of these things directly from your mobile device.

2. Christian Values. Rather than supply the profits to a large, impersonal insurance company, you can share medical bills with fellow Christians who decide together what medical expenses are eligible for sharing. 

1. The Monthly Savings. We're all looking to make the best possible financial decision for our families, so for that reason, I have to make the 65% average monthly savings relative to traditional insurance the top reason to join Medi-Share. 

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Or check out our video version of the Medi-Share review directly at YouTube. Please let me know if you have a topic you would like to see covered in future videos.

I want people to see this site and come to it when they're considering joining a Christian healthcare sharing ministry. I want everyone to see how huge a blessing Medi-Share has been to us and so many families like us -- thousands of dollars in yearly savings, exceptional support, and true compassion. 

One thing I do as part of this mission is try to understand any possible concerns or problems people have when it comes to Medi-Share. Potential new members will often search to learn about any complaints, which is the smart thing to do -- before trusting your family's health, you need to do your due diligence!

First, let's begin with the Better Business Bureau.

Medi-Share has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau as of 2020. After 26 years of consistently getting its members' medical bills paid, with hundreds of thousands of current members, there are only 14 complaints currently on file with the BBB. For comparison, Esurance has over 300 complaints in the past three years alone with an A- rating, and Aetna has almost 600 complaints.

So when it comes to the BBB, Medi-Share has the highest possible rating and very few complaints relative to the number of members they have. 
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On Google, it appears that some people are searching specifically for health insurance complaints. It is important to keep in mind that while Medi-Share acts very similarly to insurance in most ways, there are important differences between health insurance and Medi-Share.

Every member of Medi-Share that I personally know has loved their experience, but with that said, here are the three most common complaints I've seen online along with my responses to them.

While you can actually use any doctor, hospital, lab, or treatment facility you'd like as a Medi-Share member, what's true is that the ones that are in-network will be at by far the lowest cost with the largest negotiated discounts. Keep in mind that Medi-Share's PHCS network of doctors is tremendous. We have always had a very easy time finding in-network doctors or specialists. 

So if you want to pay the minimum, just use the easy search feature to find the closest in-network doctors and specialists.

Members of Medi-Share vote on what expenses are eligible for sharing. Some expenses are eligible that normally wouldn't be with traditional insurance. See my family's cranial band story here for an example. Other expenses work the other way. For example, prescription drugs and chiropractors are examples of expenses that can be eligible for sharing but with limitations. 

Remember you can always Google or look at the guidelines to find if a particular type of expense is eligible for sharing. If you're ever not sure, give Medi-Share a call or do the online chat option, and you'll usually be talking with a representative in a few minutes or less.

As Dave Ramsey has pointed out, Medi-Share has the longest and most consistent track record of paying member bills of all the Christian healthcare sharing ministries. So long as it's a normal medical expense eligible for sharing, your bill will absolutely get paid.​​
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First, in some news I'm very proud of, Medi-Share has published a guest blog post I wrote for their site. Please check it out here!

The topic of today's blog post is the Medi-Share app. It's available for both iOS and Android, and since I have an iPhone, I'll be looking today at the iOS version. To get the app, simply do a search for "Medi-Share" in the Apple App store and it will be the top result as a free app.

Once you've downloaded it, begin by putting in your Medi-Share login and you're immediately on the app's homepage. This screen lets you: Make a one-click call to customer service, see who your share has gone to help, get copies of your member cards, or find a provider. At the bottom of the screen, you can also book a Telehealth appointment, see all your recent medical bills, or do a live chat.

Here is what the app's homescreen looks like:

Here is more information on Medi-Share providers and the PHCS network of doctors and specialists.

Book a Telehealth Call: Did you know that you have 24/7 access to free online doctor appointments with Medi-Share? This is a significant benefit of membership. As one example, If your one-year-old needs antibiotics, you can get a prescription almost instantly in the middle of the night without having to wait to take your child in or make an expensive doctor's appointment.

See Bills: You can see any bill that has been sent in for you, the negotiated discount, and how close you are to your annual household portion.

Live Chat: Start a live chat instantly with customer service.

By the way, the earlier versions of this app had a couple of stability issues leading some to leave negative reviews. These have all been fixed and the app now works great. If you find the app extremely useful like I do, please give it a 5-star rating in the app store so that more people can discover and use it.
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Medi-Share Guidelines: Here are the complete Medi-Share guidelines in PDF format. If you click Ctrl-F on your computer, you can search for any term you're looking for more information about. 

​Medi-Share Phone Number: Here are the Medi-Share customer service phone numbers.

Medi-Share Address: Here is the primary email for members.

​Medi-Share Info Packet: Here is a short form to fill out for an info packet on joining Medi-Share that should answer all questions you have.

I recently had the privilege to visit Medi-Share headquarters in Melbourne, FL. I was invited to discuss how Medi-Share had worked for my family, as well as this site and my mission to help show new members the program.

Exiting from I-95, it's only a short drive before you reach Medi-Share.
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