Medi-Share recently launched a new provider search tool with a focus on smart shopping. Members using it have an average savings of $792 per procedure. Let’s see how this process works.

You begin by selecting your zip code. Then you say whether you’re looking for a doctor, hospital, type of procedure/condition, or a medication. And lastly you specify which type of doctor, procedure, or medication. The result is a full list of options in your area that are part of Medi-Share's preferred provider network. These results are color coded based on savings.

Here are a few ways to use it. The first is suppose we want an upper endoscopy in a particular zip code. Given the opaque nature of medical bills, we don't have any particular idea of what this might cost. Even if you Google, you'll likely get estimates on a national average rather than locally for your areas.

Right away though, this Medi-Share tool will tell us what price we should be expecting in our area:
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We can then go through a complete list of in-network providers with color-coded savings. Here's what that looks like in the case of doctors in the West Palm Beach area. The green icon is the most savings; the yellow icon indicates more expensive; and the red icon is the most expensive. 

Now of course, sometimes you might really want a specific doctor or facility and be willing to pay more. But assuming you want close-by options at a low cost, this search result view displays exactly that information. This allows you to be better informed about costs; able to select lower-cost providers; and continue to have Telehealth options and prescription discounts. 

To use the Bluebook Provider Search, login to the Member's Center and click on Search for Network Providers. It's an excellent tool for finding doctors, hospital, procedures, and medications that are near your home and offer the lowest average rates.

Medi-Share provides peace of mind for medical expenses. It's important to know that you can go to a doctor or hospital without facing an unaffordably high bill as other Christian members will now share this expense with you.

Yet often we Christians get the best results from within. The brilliant Dr. John Sarno suggests that if you have any chronic pain or condition such as lower back pain, headaches, stomach pain, or insomnia, that the cure usually comes from your own mind. He labels this pain as TMS -- Tension Myositis Syndrome.

His book The Mindbody Prescription has helped heal countless sufferers via mind-body principles. In my view, these concepts are particularly relevant to Christians: Healing is seen not just as a physical process but as a holistic journey involving the mind, body, and spirit. And I have recovered from significant issues including chronic foot and neck pain by following Dr. Sarno's teachings. 

I suggest you read the book directly to learn Dr. Sarno's beliefs. But a very condensed version of his thesis would be: "Our mind doesn't want us to experience difficult emotions and latches onto pain as a distraction from these. The cure is to identify these negative emotions and bring them into the realm of conscious thought."

Before continuing, I should point out that it's important to begin your healing by going to a doctor to get properly examined. Only when you've ruled out disease or injury should you continue with the TMS path. 
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​Integrating TMS Ideas with Christian Faith

1. Acknowledging and Confronting Repressed Emotions: Dr. Sarno's emphasis on acknowledging repressed emotions resonates with the Christian practice of confession and introspection. By engaging in prayer and meditation, we seek God's guidance to uncover and confront hidden emotions that may be contributing to physical pain.
2. Forgiveness and Letting Go: Forgiveness can be a powerful tool in addressing the anger and resentment often associated with TMS. By practicing forgiveness, both towards oneself and others, we may find emotional release and reduce the stress that contributes to physical pain. For more on this topic, another excellent book (written by a back surgeon) is Back in Control.
3. Faith and Trust in God's Plan: Dr. Sarno's approach involves cultivating a mindset of positivity and rejecting fear-based thinking about pain. For us Christians, this translates into trusting in God's sovereignty and plans for our lives, even in the midst of suffering. This trust can alleviate the anxiety and tension that exacerbate TMS symptoms.
4. Community Support and Pastoral Counseling: Engaging with a supportive Christian community and seeking pastoral counseling can provide emotional support and guidance. Sharing experiences with fellow believers and receiving spiritual counsel reinforces the mental strategies recommended by Dr. Sarno.
5. Biblical Teachings on Mind-Body Connection: The Bible offers insights into the mind-body connection, emphasizing the importance of a peaceful heart and a renewed mind (Proverbs 14:30, Romans 12:2). These teachings also reinforce Dr. Sarno's principles, encouraging believers to cultivate mental and emotional wellness as part of their physical health.

Practical Steps for Christians Embracing TMS Principles

1. Daily Prayer and Meditation: Setting aside time for prayer and meditation can help in self-reflection and emotional processing, key aspects of addressing TMS.
2. Journaling as a Tool for Self-Discovery: Keeping a journal to explore thoughts and emotions can be an effective way to uncover repressed feelings contributing to pain.
3. Engaging in Christian Mindfulness Practices: Practices like mindfulness and contemplative prayer can aid in developing a calm and focused mind, reducing stress and tension.
4. Participating in Healing Services and Prayer Groups: Many churches offer healing services and prayer groups focused on physical and emotional healing, providing a communal space for sharing and support.
5. Educational Workshops and Seminars: Attending workshops or seminars on TMS and its treatment, especially those integrating a Christian perspective, can be both enlightening and empowering.

Dr. John Sarno's TMS approach offers a path to healing that is both psychologically insightful and spiritually enriching. By embracing these principles within the context of faith, we follow a journey towards physical, emotional, and spiritual wholeness. This holistic approach doesn't just alleviate pain, but also fosters a deeper understanding of the self and a stronger relationship with God.

If traditional Western medicine isn't able to provide a lasting cure for your chronic pain or conditions, consider adapting the brilliant approach of Dr. John Sarno instead.

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.

One thing I do as part of the mission to spread the word about Medi-Share is try to understand any possible concerns or problems people have. 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. 

Edit: Here are the criteria for BBB ratings since a reader brought this point up.
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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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Over time, I've collected significant reader feedback on this topic. What follows is a recent update to this blog entry with a high-level overview of the issues that come up most often.

​Pre-Existing Conditions Aren't Eligible for Sharing. If you have medical bills that relate to symptoms or conditions you had prior to joining, they won't be shared. If you have any questions about what qualifies as a pre-existing condition, you should contact Medi-Share prior to joining to discuss your particular situation.

Bills May Require Upfront Payment. You may need to pay medical bills upfront and then get reimbursed. In the story I referenced earlier about my daughter's cranial band, I paid $3000 upfront for this and got reimbursed a month or two later. So it's a good system from my experience, but it helps a lot expecting this system going in.

​Provider Network Issues. Occasionally a hospital is part of the provider network but a specialist isn't. Or you end up getting care from someone who isn't part of the preferred provider network during an emergency. I definitely understand the frustration with this, and unfortunately it's a common theme in traditional health insurance as well. The most you can do is try your best to ensure that everyone involved in your care is part of the provider network. 

Limited Preventive Care and Prescriptions. Members get one annual physical per year and some labs may be eligible for sharing. Generally though, preventive care and prescriptions will be the member's responsibility. You'll often get good discounts through membership. But the bills won't be shared even when you're over your AHP. 

Cancellation Timing. A number of complaints centered around the 15-day cutoff for cancelling your membership. If you do want to cancel, you need to provide Medi-Share with 15 days notice; if you let them know 14 days or less before the end of the month that you want to cancel, it will have to be for the month after. (E.g. Telling Medi-Share on December 18 that you want to cancel your membership, it will be processed as of Feb 1.)

​Faith-Based Messaging Raises Expectations. I think this point may be the most common theme among those who complain. Medi-Share being a Christian organization makes many members expect a higher level of flexibility during difficult medical situations. When this doesn't happen, they become upset.

While I definitely understand these concerns, it's important to understand that Medi-Share operates within written guidelines that apply to all members equally. Decisions about sharing eligibility are based on those guidelines rather than individual circumstances, and the organization has little discretion to make exceptions, even in difficult cases. While this can be disappointing, it's also part of what allows the program to function at scale and remain affordable.

It’s also worth noting that a healthcare sharing ministry is not a church and is not intended to replace personal, local Christian community support. Its role is limited to facilitating the sharing of eligible medical expenses according to agreed-upon rules, not to providing pastoral care or individualized financial relief in every situation.

​For members who clearly understand this distinction going in, Medi-Share will usually be a great fit. 
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There will always be people who are unhappy with their experiences in traditional insurance of healthcare sharing ministries. And those people (understandably) tend to be the most vocal. Medi-Share has complaints, but I believe a far higher percent of members are extremely satisfied with their membership compared to traditional health insurance companies.
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