Medi-Share Members Have Faith in Health Care
When his two daughters were born, Dom Robin had nearly half a million friends to share the joy of parenthood and help him with delivery costs.
When stage 2 kidney cancer struck Dom at age 37, he again could count on the spiritual and financial support of close to half a million friends, this time to ease his difficult journey to recovery.
As members of Medi-Share, Dom and his family are part of a national community of Christians who share their resources and faith when it comes to each others’ health care needs. The concept is outlined in Galatians 6:2, which exhorts Christians to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
“There is great comfort and great peace of mind knowing that the community is going to share,” Dom said.
Operated by Melbourne-based Christian Care Ministry, or CCM, this health care sharing program offers faith-based consumers an affordable alternative to traditional health insurance. The organization walks the walk when it comes to sharing; staff of Christian Care Ministry receive 24 hours of paid time annually to volunteer at the nonprofit of their choice.
“Employees serve at Brevard organizations like Trinity Church, New Life Mission, Walk on Water, Children’s Hunger Project, and Love Inc.,” said Deborah Ryan, spokesperson for Medi-Share.
Although similar organizations have attempted CCM’s sharing model, none have achieved its success. Christian Care Ministry’s Medi-Share remains the leading health care sharing community.
“A lot of organizations pop up and then disappear, but not Medi-Share,” Dom said.
Dr. E. John Reinhold founded CCM in 1993 as a division of the American Evangelistic Association (AEA), with the mission of providing what he termed “Biblical health care solutions” and formalizing the casual sharing of financial burdens that had already existed in the AEA.
With Medi-Share, members are responsible for an Annual Household Portion toward their medical costs, which can range from $3,000 to $12,000, depending upon the type of sharing program selected. Members also pay a monthly share amount that goes to meet the medical expenses of fellow members.
“It is a per-household rather than per-person cost, and you always know in advance what your responsibility is,” Dom said.
Medi-Share has shared more than $3 billion and discounted more than $2 billion in medical expenses in the last 28 years.
In an industry that can be labyrinthine, financially draining and frustrating to maneuver, Medi-Share is the answer to the prayers of the more than 400,000 consumers who depend on it for their health costs. Many find that Medi-Share allows them to meet their family’s health care needs at significantly lower costs than traditional health insurance.
Conditions that occur because of lifestyle choices such as extramarital sex and drug abuse are not shared, but the member-voted guidelines are transparent so all members know what to expect.
“You know what is and is not eligible,” Dom said.
A critical benefit is the power of prayer, something rarely found in traditional health care coverage. Through an app that never shares private information, members are encouraged to pray for fellow members experiencing health issues. Dom Robin believes it made a difference.
“A huge part of my healing was the knowledge that I had a community praying for me,” he said.
Emergency Support
After their daughter Mirra Grace was born, Melbourne residents Cary and Laura Hughes spent 10 hours of normal parent/baby bonding…until they saw their baby’s color changing. An MRI revealed Mirra Grace had experienced a severe stroke on the left side of her face.
“It was very scary for us, because we’ve never even heard of babies having a stroke,” Laura said.
On her first day in the world, the baby was airlifted to Florida Hospital. Cary, who is a pastor, called Medi-Share.
“Every time I got off the phone with Medi-Share, I was at peace,” he said.
He later received a letter from a member saying how they were praying for Mirra Grace at his church and how much of a joy it was to help the family in their medical needs. Mirra Grace fully recovered.
“In our most difficult financial need in our lives, God used Medi-Share and the members of Medi-Share to not only help us, but to encourage us,” Cary said. “Medi-Share has been one of the greatest blessings that God has ever given us.”
Embracing Ministry
Christian Care Ministry stresses that Medi-Share is not insurance, but rather a Health Care Sharing Ministry as outlined in the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. Adult members must attest to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and are expected to strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle based on the Biblical principle that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Since it is not employer-specific, Medi-Share can move with the members as they take on different jobs in different cities and segue from youth to golden years. At age 65, individuals can transition to Medi-Share’s health care sharing program designed for seniors with Medicare Parts A and B.
When a member passes away, up to $5,000 of eligible final expenses can be shared.
All health care bills are shareable after the annual household portion is exceeded. The program also allows for wellness visits, unlimited telehealth visits, TeleCounseling, as well as vision, dental, and prescription discounts.
Medi-Share taps into a network of more than 900,000 PPO providers, one of the largest in the country. No referrals are necessary.
When a member is hospitalized, they will receive an itemized list of all members who shared in the medical need.
In October, Dom Robin and his wife, Sarah, will again turn to his Medi-Share community, this time to celebrate the birth of their first son. They know they will be surrounded by love and care.
“I know God is involved,” Dom said.
Learn more
Facebook: @MyChristianCare
Instagram: @medi_share
Twitter: @ccm_medishare
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