Anyone use Medi-share or one like it? Help!

[ally]

We are getting eaten alive by medical insurance costs! We are self-employed and started with Aetna 14 months ago. Our family premiums were about $600/month and we had a $6000 family deductible. In November they increased our rates by $200/month and we just received another letter today increasing our rates by another $200/month starting in January! We have a separate plan for our 8yr old because she has allergies(non-life threatening) and her being on the family plan bumped us into a higher rate category. Her deductible is $3000. We've spent close to $20,000 on medical bills and insurance this year! Ouch! I keep hearing advertisements for a program called Medi-share on the Christian radio station. It sounds good but I don't know of anyone that uses it. Anyone have ideas for saving money in this area?

[creekland]

When hubby switched to being self-employed (11 years ago), we shortly thereafter switched to Samaritan's Ministries (similar to medi-share) because we couldn't afford the insurance premiums, deductible, and co-pays. We've saved tons over the years and had two "claims" which were both paid without issues. I highly recommend them.

 

BUT, I'm not sure if you'll qualify with pre-existing conditions. Your best bet is to google their web site, then send an e-mail (or call) detailing your situation. Then compare prices with each option to see what's best for you.

 

With Samaritan's, doctor visits are not included (well-checks) so they come out of pocket. Considering we're saving around $3600/year (based on 11 year old prices), I can get a lot of well-checks and still come in cheaper overall. We saved on both claims too as our deductible with insurance had been $1000, then coverage at 80%. With Samaritan's it's been $300 (maybe $400 now, I'd have to check) and coverage generally at 100% (once in a while it can drop down, but I've never seen it go below 80%).

 

As an organization with real savings for the right families, I can vouch for it highly. For your specific situation, check (due to the pre-existing condition).