What are Health Sharing Plans?
Health Sharing Plans are faith-based health programs that facilitate sharing funds amongst members for qualified medical expenses. According to the specific guidelines each health sharing plan holds, members pool their monthly shares together (much like a premium) that are then used to help others in their network with medical expenses.
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Differences Between Health Care Sharing vs Health Insurance
Insurance is defined as “a practice or arrangement by which a company or government agency provides a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for a payment of a premium.” No such guarantee exists for health care sharing.
When insured, you enter a legally binding contract with your insurer. However, there are no binding contracts between a member and a health sharing program or between members to receive a payment.
Like health insurance, there are specific guidelines each must follow to be accepted into a Health Sharing Plan. Typically, these Health Sharing Plans are formed by people with similar beliefs and values who agree to share each other’s healthcare expenses. These programs’ main appeal is that they are theoretically much less expensive than health insurance, with lower out-of-pocket expense limits than typical high-deductible health insurance options.
But Health Care Sharing isn’t health insurance. They typically do not cover health-related costs considered ‘unbiblical’ or inconsistent with the ministry’s ethical standards, such as birth control, abortions, or injuries related to alcohol or drug use. Crucially, many HCSMs also do not share costs for long-term chronic conditions, pre-existing conditions (especially in the first year of membership), or services they deem non-essential.
Participating members remain exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to purchase insurance coverage. However, they do not meet the ACA’s essential health benefits requirements, and there is no guarantee of payment. For 2026, the cost savings of HCSMs become more appealing due to the dramatic rise in unsubsidized ACA premiums. However, HCSMs still carry the significant risk of non-payment for costly, chronic, or pre-existing conditions.
What are Health Care Sharing Plan Options?
To become a member of a particular healthcare sharing program, you may be required to agree and sign a statement of faith, or in some cases, have to verify regular church attendance. However, each healthcare sharing program has its own policies. The significant difference between each health sharing plan is their acceptance guidelines, alternative treatment coverage, and electronic billing.
The most popular health sharing ministries are:
- Liberty Healthshare
- Christian Healthcare Ministries
- Samaritan Ministries
- Medi-Share
- Altrua Healthshare
- Sedera
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