Today we go to a reader question. Steven from San Diego, CA writes:

"I'm thinking of joining Medi-Share but do you know if they cover counseling / anti-depressive?"

Looking at the Medi-Share guidelines, I'll try to provide the best answer I can to this question. First, psychiatrists are definitely doctors. When you go to search for a provider, one of the options you can select is specifically to locate a psychiatrist near you.

The one limit to this is that while psychiatric care and evaluation are eligible for sharing, there is a maximum of 6 months of sharing per new condition. Most forms of counseling, such as those for learning deficiencies, aren't eligible for sharing. If you have a specific type of counseling, medication, or mental health treatment you are interested in, the best option is to contact Medi-Share directly to ask.

(A benefit to Medi-Share not making all forms of expenses eligible for sharing is that this lowers the monthly cost for all members. Members get to vote on this so you have a say as a Medi-Share member for which expenses should be eligible for sharing.)

Steven, I hope that answers your question, please feel free to get back in touch if you have more information I can help with. 

Before the main topic of today's post, I've gotten some more questions recently on how healthcare sharing ministries work. If you still have questions, I suggest taking a look at this detailed explanation of Christian health insurance. It explains the topic very well.

In our last blog, we talked about Medi-Share and maternity. Today we're going to talk about both prescriptions and dental work. 

Prescriptions are mostly like normal medical expenses eligible for sharing. So long as you start the prescription once you're already a member, the cost will be paid. The only caveat is that there is a maximum length for the prescription, which is usually 6 months. So you will want to call their customer service if you have a prescription that may last for longer than this. 

For seeing a dentist, these expenses are not eligible for sharing like normal medical bills, but there is a discount program. 

Here is a link to the full list of discounts, which includes (as an example) root canals for under $600. 

The most important thing with Medi-Share is that if you have any questions you can't find out online, just call and ask. They are always happy to help members and prospective members any way they're able. 

Having a family is an incredible blessing. 

The process of navigating maternity healthcare, however, can be very difficult. The ultrasounds, doctor appointments, and lab work can easily cost $5,000 or more. Then the actual birth, typically costing at least $10,000. 

Medi-Share can help with maternity in three important ways.

Maternity Bills are Eligible for Sharing. So long as you're a member of Medi-Share at the time of conception, in a Christian marriage, then your maternity bills are eligible for sharing. What this means is that if you have paid more than your AHP (Annual Household Portion -- like a deductible), then your bills we be paid by Medi-Share. Even if your AHP is the highest level of $10,000, you will almost certainly exceed this amount during the pregnancy and have all subsequent bills paid in full.

Negotiation of Discounts. We have detailed elsewhere that Medi-Share will usually negotiate significant discounts from your bills before you have reached your AHP. This is the same with maternity. Blood work and ultrasounds, for example, are often discounted by 50% or more. 

​Ease of Use. If you're required to prepay for treatment, Medi-Share will still reimburse you (or have the provider reimburse you) if it's an expense that qualifies for sharing. If an unexpected procedure is necessary, you don't need pre-approval like most insurance companies require. And there is a dedicated Maternity phone number to answer any questions that you may have.

If you are considering starting a family, that is another good reason to look into joining Medi-Share.

The Medi-Share network of doctors and specialists (known as a PPO) is called PHCS, which stands for Private Healthcare Systems. It includes over 700,000 healthcare professionals. I can tell you from experience that if there is a particular doctor or healthcare facility that you normally use, the odds are very good that it is part of the PHCS network. 

When you join Medi-Share, you will have instant access to their online member's center. If you click on Find A Provider, you are brought to this page:

Notice that besides ​finding a doctor, you also have options for dental and vision, as well as the 24/7 online doctor's calls done over phone or webcam.

The first option is to find a doctor. You're able to search for specific doctors, or any who meet the criteria you set who are also near you. You can specify that the doctor must have a certain specialty like occupational therapy or pediatrics, be male or female, or speak a certain language.  You can also specify how close the doctor must be, such as 1 mile or 5 miles. 

From there, you get a comprehensive list of all doctors meeting your criteria. For example, searching for pediatricians within 1 mile, I get 9 results starting with:
​

So this is how you can use Medi-Share to find the right doctor for you and your family.

We here at Medi-Share Reviews have a tremendous amount of respect for Christian personal finance guru Dave Ramsey. His advice on home ownership, investing, budgeting, and taxes is well-informed and comes from an honest and knowledgeable Christian perspective.

Reader Luke H. has written in to point out that Mr. Ramsey has in fact discussed Christian healthcare sharing ministries, and Medi-Share specifically, on his site.

After praising Christian healthcare sharing ministries in general, calling most of them "very reliable," Mr. Ramsey singles out Medi-Share's "great reputation."

He then points out correctly that Christian health insurance alternatives are not insurance and don't face the same regulations as insurance companies. What this means is that you need one that has a long track record of serving its members, such as the 26 years that Medi-Share has been providing affordable healthcare sharing. 

By the way, in case Mr. Ramsey's post isn't available when you click on it, here are his exact words:
​

The reason why Mr. Ramsey correctly advises his readers to be careful is because Christian healthcare sharing ministries are not insurance, a point that we talk about more in our post: "What is Christian Health Insurance?" As well as our main YouTube MediShare review and newer YouTube video specifically on Medi-Share Reviews and Dave Ramsey.

If you believe in Dave Ramsey's advice and are looking for an inexpensive health insurance alternative, please request your free info packet directly from Medi-Share, providing many more details and telling you exactly how much you would pay each month as a member.

What is your favorite Dave Ramsey wisdom?

Enter the election of Donald Trump. The President-Elect has stated that he will repeal Obamacare. Whether he will actually do that, and eliminate compulsory insurance, remains to be seen. While we certainly hope that happens, Mr. Trump has previously stated that he is in favor of universal healthcare, and subsequent to being elected, has begun praising aspects of ObamaCare -- such as the “prohibition against insurers denying coverage because of patients' existing conditions.”

As discussed in the Chicago Tribune article mentioned in the first paragraph, measures such as requiring insurers to grant full coverage to those with existing conditions, and limiting how much the elderly can be charged, may sound both positive and charitable. But unfortunately someone has to bear the cost, and the average person pays significantly more for insurance as a result ... often a completely unaffordable amount for hard-working middle class families.

What do we advocate instead?

The one true solution is a free market with transparent pricing where doctors and hospitals compete for our business with better service and lower prices. We should know how much we'll be paying in advance, and have control over our own healthcare. Let us also all contribute to charities we like that help provide medical care to those who can't afford it for themselves. But such contributions should be voluntary.

We will see in the coming months exactly what President Elect Trump intends to do. We hope that in addition to ending any form of compulsory health insurance, he also works toward a freer market in healthcare and lower prices.

If you do not want to pay the skyrocketing costs of conventional insurance, or potentially thousands of dollars per year in penalties to the government, consider healthcare sharing. See what you would pay with Medi-Share compared to conventional insurance. Call them up and see how easy it is to talk with an actual human who wants to answer your questions and help you.

Christians can opt out of the failed system like so many others want to do, but without paying the high and increasing Obamacare penalty. And in the process, we can have significantly more flexibility, pay much less each month, and become part of a system that genuinely cares about its members.



(Blog Image Credit to Gage Skidmore)

The term "Christian health insurance" is an interesting one because it doesn't mean what it appears to: health insurance for Christians. The reason is that it isn't traditional insurance. 

​Here are the benefits of Medi-Share compared to traditional insurance or being uninsured:

• You will save an average of about 63% per year compared to normal insurance. 
• Even if you haven't met your AHP (deductible), Medi-Share will negotiate a discount of up to 80-90% on your bill.
• Free 24/7 online doctor appointments
• No Obamacare penalty for being uninsured
• Prayer, help, and guidance from Medi-Share itself and fellow members as desired.

For more details, please read our main Medi-Share review, or watch the Medi-Share video review, providing complete information on how Medi-Share works. ​​If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them as a comment on this blog and I'll be happy to reply and answer. 

Medi-Share has just made a very big announcement.

First, they have added significant discounts on dentist visits, eye exams, lenses, hearing aids, and LASIK. All members have been sent new cards to use for dental, vision, and hearing services. 

The biggest news is that they now offer instant online doctor appointments, and this service is available 24/7 to every member at no cost. Simply go online, login to your account, and a list of doctors comes up. You can select them based on their background, specialty, whether you prefer a man or a woman, or any other criteria.

This is what it looks like when you first log-in to the service: A list of doctors all licensed to practice in the state you're in. They can not only diagnose and help you with symptoms, but even prescribe for you. The prescriptions are sent electronically to your pharmacy as soon as the appointment is over.

When you find a doctor you like, you can learn more about their background and what they specialize in before booking. For example, if I click on Dr. J Douglas Adams I see a page with all of his credentials and available appointment times:

Those appointment times were all same-day, with many doctors available to talk immediately. The doctors appointments are provided directly through MDLive, one of the highest rated online doctor appointment companies known for their exceptional service. 

If you wanted to get an instant doctor's appointment through MDLive, the normal rate they charge people is $49 per visit. For Medi-Share members, these appointments are now completely free.

This is a very big development and we will continue providing information about it in future posts.

I had several emails recently with Sandy N. of Stuart, FL. With her permission, I share our correspondence.

Sandy

I wanted to write in and thank you for your review of Medishare. I became a member in August of last year after finding your site and getting the information packet that told me exactly how it worked, and what we would pay, in simple clear language. We used to have health insurance through my husband's job, but then he was laid off and we lost it. Now he works two part-time jobs and I wanted to find something we could afford.

The cheapest I found online was about $700 a month for the two of us and we couldn't afford that. 

I looked at Medishare options, and saw we could pay just $158!

They were so nice too. But still, I didn't know how it would work when I actually had medical expenses. So let me tell you what happened. The next month I needed a checkup and blood test. I gave them my card and they sent the bill directly to Medishare.

I didn't expect to save any money, because we have a high annual household portion (their version of the deductible). But when I got the bill in the mail, they had negotiated a huge discount for me. I called them to ask and was told that is just part of the service they provide and they will always do that for their members.

I am so happy I went with Medishare.

Me

Hi Sandy, thank you very much for your email. I am very happy to hear about your great experience with Medi-Share. Could I publish it in my blog? And could you tell us exactly how much you saved with this discount?

Sandy

Sure, and I'll tell you what, I don't have that first bill anymore but here's the most recent one. (I just blacked out all the personal information). You can put that on your blog so everyone can see. This is for lab work that's not covered under we have, so I expected to pay the full amount.

​But they got almost 90% knocked off this bill, and that has been common for me so far. I'm not sure how it works, but even paying so little a month and having a high deductible, our out-of-pocket payments have been lower than they were with our normal insurance before.

​From my experience, everything Sandy says is exactly right. MediShare goes to bat for their members and routinely negotiates discounts of 70-90% off the normal bill.

How much do you save on your medical bills with MediShare?

I recently received an email asking if there were healthcare sharing ministries available for those of different religions.  As you must be Christian to join MediShare, this is certainly a reasonable question.

While I can't endorse either of these, there are two that I have found and may be worth further research for those interested.

Liberty Healthshare.  Instead of requiring that members be Christian, Liberty Healthshare requires belief in their set of principles.  To quote from the site:

For more on how their program works, see the FAQ.

Altrua Healthshare.  The eligibility requirements for Altrua make no reference to religion.  Instead, members must agree to the following:

For more on how their program works, see the FAQ.

The other healthcare sharing ministry we have discussed is Samartian Ministries International, which is also only open to Christians.  See this previous post for a comparison of Medi-Share with SMI.

Do you know of any other healthcare sharing ministries?  If so, please let us know in the comments.