Affordable Healthcare When You Leave Your Job

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you enroll through my link, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

If trying to afford expensive Health Insurance on your own is keeping you from quitting a job or accepting one that you’d love – it’s time to rethink your healthcare options.

Health Insurance is not the only way to protect your finances if or when a large and unexpected medical bill comes your way. In fact, if you are truly looking for affordable healthcare, I recommend joining a Health Share. It’s an affordable and effective alternative to Health Insurance.

In this post I am going to explain more on what a Health Share is, how it works, who a Health Share is for, the benefits, and which Health Share I recommend (and joined myself!).

What is a Health Share?

A Health Share organization is a non-profit organization that provides an organized way for a community of people to share in one another’s medical expenses. A Health Share provides an effective non-insurance solution for managing large and unexpected medical expenses.

How does a Health Share work?

Members contribute money each month to the Health Share community to help those in need. When they have an eligible sharing request, they pay their member responsibility amount (which is comparable to a deductible) and then the Health Share community pays for the rest of the eligible sharing requests.

Members will either pay directly to their medical provider and get reimbursed or they can submit the bill to their Health Share.

Benefits of joining a Health Share

• Save Money. This is the number one reason why most people choose to join a Health Share over Health Insurance.
• Community. Members choose a community that fits their personal beliefs or lifestyle choices.
• Less or no Network Restrictions. Health Share members typically enjoy more freedom to choose which Doctors or healthcare providers they want to see. For preventative services, most Health Shares seem to have a network that they work with.
• Nationwide or Worldwide sharing. Health Shares usually have sharing available to people all throughout the United States and even abroad. Health Shares are a great option for those who love to travel.

Who is a Health Share for?

A Health Share is for anyone who wants to be a part of a community that will share in large and unexpected medical expenses.

A Health Share is great for anyone who is:

• Self-Employed
• Small Business Owner
• Freelancer
• Contract Worker
• Employee without Benefits
• Recently Retired (under 65 years old)
• Under or Uninsured
• Anyone who wants to save money on their healthcare costs

The best candidate for a Health Share would meet the following criteria:

• Actively chooses a healthy lifestyle (no illegal drugs or excessive alcohol consumption)
• Young (under 65 years old)
• Willing to pay for smaller medical bills on their own
• No major current health conditions (or can wait one year for sharing in medical expenses)

Which Health Share I Recommend

After reviewing and writing about all of the top Health Share organizations, My family and I have personally joined Zion HealthShare for a number of reasons:

• Zion HealthShare accepts members of all faiths. They are a community of individuals who strive to live a healthy lifestyle and want to share in the costs of one another’s medical burdens. With a healthier community of members, this helps keep costs down for everyone. 
• Zion HealthShare members typically save 30-60% off of traditional Health Insurance. 
• Zion HealthShare does not have annual or lifetime caps on eligible need requests. This gives people peace of mind if very large medical expenses come up, they are not capped.
• Zion HealthShare is known in the industry and to its members for processing sharing requests quickly – often within five to ten business days (once all receipts and bills are submitted)! 
• Zion HealthShare has great Maternity Shared Services. Members first pay their IUA (the amount they chose to pay before the community shares in medical expenses). Afterward, 100% of your eligible maternity sharing request will be shared.
• Zion HealthShare’s Family membership does not cost extra for additional children. Whether you have two children or ten – the cost is the same to you.
• Immediately after becoming a member, Zion HealthShare will share in Annual provider visits. After six months of membership, they will share in colonoscopy, mammogram, and youth immunizations (up to 18 years old).
• Zion HealthShare allows people with pre-membership conditions to join the health share – rather than denying them. Instead, they offer a waiting period for pre-membership conditions and a phase-in of sharing in these pre-membership conditions. 
• Zion HealthShare is a Nationwide HealthShare. US residents in every state – except Washington State – can become a member.
• Zion HealthShare will share in emergency or urgent medical expenses incurred outside the United States.

Learn more at ZionHealthShare.org

Health shares are not insurance and do not offer insurance coverage. Membership in a health share does not guarantee the payment or reimbursement of medical expenses. Each organization operates under its own membership guidelines, which determine what expenses may be eligible for sharing. This publication is for informational purposes only and is not provided by an insurance company. For state-specific notices and full program details, please visit the respective health share’s official website.