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Christian Care Ministry, better known as Medi-Share, is probably the most popular health share company in the US and a go-to choice for Christians seeking an alternative to traditional health insurance.
However, as popular as it might be, doing some due diligence before joining a health share plan is a must.
And what better way to determine whether a specific health share is a good choice than reading user reviews?
Well, if you are looking for Christian Care Ministry Reviews, you have come to the right place. Below, you’ll find my in-depth Medi-Share review, followed by several reviews from its members. Let’s discuss how Medi-Share works, its costs, and what’s included with each plan.
About Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share)
Members who join Medi-Share or other health shares are looking for an alternative to traditional health insurance.
Unlike a health insurance company, joining Medi-Share or another Christian healthcare sharing program will have specific requirements for current members to join or to have medical bills shared with them.
As a Christian health share ministry, Medi-Share only accepts people of Christian faith who share each other’s medical bills and pray for each other’s medical challenges.
Medi-Share members are committed to living a healthy lifestyle, following Christian values, and sharing eligible medical bills with other Medi-Share members (and receiving help from other members when they have eligible medical bills).
Despite its strict rules, Christian Care Ministry remains the top health sharing company in the US, supporting its members’ healthcare needs since 1993, which also makes it one of the longest-serving health share ministries in the country.
Key Facts about Christian Care Ministry
| Company | Christian Care Ministry |
| Type of Health Share | Christian-Based |
| Founded In | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Florida |
| Website | medishare.com |
| Health Share 101 Rating | 1.9/5 (based on 10 reviews) |
Is Medi-Share the same as Traditional Health Insurance?
While some may refer to Medi-Share as “Christian Health Insurance,” it’s important to understand that Medi-Share is not an insurance company, and it does not offer any type of health insurance coverage.
Medi-Share is a nonprofit healthcare sharing ministry, also known as a Health Share. Such plans are considered an affordable alternative to health insurance since the main purpose is to help with major medical expenses.
As a Health Share, Medi-Share is not considered minimum essential coverage and legally does not guarantee payment like a health insurance company is required to do. It’s important to remember that a health insurance plan will not cover every healthcare expense either.
Medi-Share will pay for a member’s eligible need. As a Health Share, members continue their membership on a month-to-month basis.
This means that Medi-Share members can cancel at any time, which gives the Health Sharing community every incentive to take great care of their members and pay for all eligible medical expenses.
How Medi-Share Works
Medi-Share operates on the same basis as other health shares. Long story short, members send their monthly share amounts to the Christian Care Ministry.
Then, when a member needs support in paying a medical expense, they will first pay their Annual Household Portion (APH), followed by a share paid by Medi-Share, up to any caps or limitations.
What Are the Requirements to Join Medi-Share?
Medi-Share is a Christian health share ministry. This means that the minimum requirement for new members is to be of Christian faith. However, there’s more.
Medi-Share members must agree to their specific qualifications for a “Christian Testimony.” Not all Christian denominations will fit into these beliefs, so be sure to read their member guidelines to see if you’re even eligible to join Medi-Share.
What’s Included with a Medi-Share Membership?
As a Medi-Share member, you will receive:
- 24/7 Access to Telehealth
- Sharing in Unlimited TeleBehavioral Health*
- Sharing in Hospital, Surgical, and Other Medical Expenses
- Prescription, Dental, and Vision Care Discounts
- Nationwide Provider Flexibility
- Maternity Sharing*
- No Lifetime Or Annual Sharing Limits
- Encouragement and Prayer from community members
*Reference the Medi-Share Program Guidelines
What Are the Different Medi-Share Programs?
Medi-Share offers several different programs that are affordable alternatives to health insurance.
Medi-Share Value
Medi-Share Value offers members a lower out-of-pocket in exchange for a step-by-step guided experience through Healthcare Bluebook. As a choice-based option, members can select providers based on quality ratings and pricing insights. Members only pay for the care they need when they need it.
- Lower Out-of-Pocket
- See Any Provider with/ Price & Quality Insights through Healthcare Bluebook
- Self-pay w/ Reimbursement
- Navigation Support for more complex care
- Dental, Vision, and Prescription Discounts
Medi-Share Complete
Medi-Share Complete is a convenient approach to health care sharing. It’s Medi-Share’s most comprehensive program option, giving members access to quality health care. Medi-Share Complete allows members to have access to one of the largest provider networks in the country and provides peace of mind knowing your medical expenses are managed for them.
- Low Monthly Share
- Nationwide PPO Network
- Providers Bill Medi-Share Directly
- Direct Primary Care and Co-Share Options
- Dental, Vision, and Prescription Discounts
Medi-Share 65+
Medi-Share 65+ will always be secondary to Medicare A & B and therefore anything that Medicare covers will be shared in. If Medicare A & B considers a medical condition ineligible for coverage, it will be considered ineligible for sharing under Medi-Share 65+ guidelines.
- Supplementary Medicare Option
- Direct Bill Management
- One low price for up to 10 years!
- Dental and Vision Discounts
Medi-Share for Employers
Medi-Share helps Christian employers save 30% or more on healthcare costs.
- Affordable Options
- Nationwide PPO Network
- Personalized Enrollment
- Dental, Vision & Prescription Discounts
Medi-Share Global
International missionaries face a number of challenges, including finding a health care option that works for them and their families.
Medi-Share designed this program to provide a high level of healthcare wherever and whenever one might need it. Whether that is in your home base in the United States or overseas, Medi-Share has affordable healthcare options for you with no dedicated end date.
- Quick Bill Reimbursement
- No Bill Too Large
- Bill Sharing in Global Provider Costs
How Much Does Medi-Share Cost?
The Medi-Share monthly share amounts range from $107 to $1,224.These monthly payments are based on how many people are on the plan (individual, couple, or family), age, and which Annual Household Portion (AHP) amount was chosen.
How much does Medi-Share 65+ Cost?
The monthly cost for Medi-Share 65+ is $99/month for people between 65 – 74 years old. The monthly cost is $150/month for people who are 75 years and older.
This type of health share plan also involves a $2 monthly account maintenance fee and a one-time $2 account setup fee included at the time of activation.
What Is the Annual Household Portion (AHP)?
The Annual Household Portion (AHP) is the dollar amount that a Member Household agrees to pay toward eligible medical bills before any medical expenses may be shared among the members.
The Annual Household Portion amount resets every 12 months on the Effective Date.
Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share) has several Annual Household Portion amounts: $3,000, $6,000, $9,000, and $12,000.Medical bills that are less than the Annual Household Portion (AHP) would be paid by the member.
You can review Medi-Share’s Sharing Summary.
What Is a Provider Fee?
Similar to traditional health insurance, you will still pay a provider fee (similar to a co-pay) for doctor visits and emergency room visits.
Doctors’ visits are $35, and emergency room visits are $200.
Routine medical care, such as your annual physical, dental, and vision care, is not eligible for sharing with Medi-Share, so be sure to save money for those medical expenses throughout the year.
What Is the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)?
Medi-Share has partnered with the PHCS network, which is their Preferred Provider Organization. This means that community members are encouraged to seek medical care from healthcare providers within the PHCS network.
While you can choose medical providers outside of the PHCS network, there may be a penalty applied for going out of the Medi-Share network. For example, if you use a medical provider outside of the PHCS network for your routine physical, it will not be eligible for sharing.
This is a standard in the industry, although there are many companies that don’t impose any network restrictions on their members. The good news is that Medi-Share’s network includes over 1 million specialists nationwide, so there are plenty of options to choose from. Personally, though, I’m not a fan of such limits. Zion HealthShare, for instance, doesn’t have any restrictions on specialists you can visit.
What about Preventative Care?
While most routine or preventative medical care is not something that is shared with the Medi-Share community, Medi-Share will allow members one routine physical (with 2 labs) per year. The one condition is that you must use the PCHS Network for preventative care to be eligible for sharing.
Medi-Share’s Approach to Pre-Existing Conditions
Any healthcare costs incurred from pre-existing conditions are not shareable during the first three years of membership.
After three years of membership, Medi-Share members have up to $300,000 a year that is shareable for pre existing conditions.
After 5 years of membership, Medi-Share members have up to $500,000 a year that is shareable for pre-existing conditions.
What Are the Maternity Benefits?
Medi Share members must be married in order to have maternity and newborn needs shared. Maternity medical expenses for newborns conceived outside of marriage are ineligible for sharing. Pregnancies resulting from rape reported to a law enforcement authority are the only exception.
If members can show that they have an eligible maternity need, the member would need to pay their Annual Household Portion amount.
Sharing is limited to $125,000 for any single pregnancy event, including antepartum care, the cost of delivery and complications to the mother and/or child(ren), and postpartum care.
Turnaround Time for Paying Medical Bills
Medi Share can take up to 30 business days to have eligible medical bills paid.
That’s relatively long, especially compared to many other health shares that have turnaround times of 5-10 days. Long story short, if you want your requests processed fast, Medi-Share might not be the best option around.
What Are the Caps and Limitations of Medi Share?
Generally, there are no Lifetime or Annual Sharing Limits for Medi-Share members.
That said, if you plan on growing your family, it’s very important to know that maternity benefits are capped at $125,000 per pregnancy. For most pregnancies, this is plenty of money available for sharing. However, for premature babies, this may not be enough to pay for all of your little one’s NICU expenses.
For pre-existing conditions, nothing related to your pre-existing conditions will be shared until after three years of membership. At that point, they will share up to $100,000 a year per member, and after 5 years of membership, they will share up to $500,000 a year per member for pre-existing conditions.
For motorcycle accident injuries, there is a sharing limit of $100,000 per year. However, if you are injured while on a motorcycle used to perform mission work outside of the U.S., you are exempt from this $100,000 limit.
Pros & Cons of Medi-Share
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Extensive network of healthcare professionals (1M+) ✅ Affordable plan for seniors ✅ A great employer plan ✅ No lifetime or annual sharing limits ✅ Shareable annual wellness and preventive care visits (including lab work) | ❌ Confusing fee structure ❌ Relatively long turnaround times (30 days) ❌ Very strict membership requirements ❌ Network restrictions |
Do I recommend Medi-Share?
I have reviewed all of the health share plans and I gotta say, with Medi-Share, there are so many programs and price points that it can become confusing on what is and isn’t shared with members.
For example, in addition to standard health sharing monthly payments and member responsibility, Med-Share members must also pay a provider fee, application fee, new member fee, and administration fee.
It’s very important that potential members (or current members) read through and understand Medi-Share’s member guidelines so there are no surprises.
There’s also the case of incredibly strict membership requirements and quite long turnaround times. I do recommend looking at my article on the Best Health Share Plans. You will find which health share plans I recommend to help you on your search for affordable healthcare and alternatives to traditional health insurance and, in this case, Medi-Share, which might not be the best option for your needs.
Write a Christian Care Ministry Review (Medi-Share Review)
Are you a current or former member of Medi-Share? If you have any experience with Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share), please write your own Medi-Share review!
Reading other people’s Health Share experiences is a huge when trying to make a decision about which Health Share to join. In fact, over 90% of people will read online reviews before they buy a product or service! Please consider writing a Medi-Share review!
For a Christian group, they don’t keep there word.
It has been a stressful time dealing with Medi-Share so far. Have been trying I ng to get answers all month to no avail. They leave you on hold, 38min before disconnected my last attemp. Then emailing they promise on there recorded line to answer emails 24hrs. Today is 9 days no answers yet via email. They made us sign up with two emai addresses then locked us out of main one. No one will answer any questions. Received email for payment due above what I was told. Sent two payments in so they wouldn’t cancel us if payment late. Husband and I doubt this service helping so far.
About your claim to Christian standards.
Not very Christian if you ask me. They make you meet “their” idea of a size weight body mass and that is very judgmental and if you don’t meet “their “ standard you will pay more. Doesn’t matter if blood test and Dr says you in good health. Then they may recognize the Dr but not the hospital be does surgery in. What sense does that make? Guess they need to operate in the parking lot!
Does not pay medical bill.
Extremely difficult to deal with. Getting to a real person is the 1st challenge. 2nd challenge is getting to a person that can do more than just double speak. 3rd challenge is getting them to approve any bill is an ongoing delay followed by delay, then more delays. They take more than 6 months to review then come back with inaccurate answers- so more months of review. I was a member for 1 year and never got anything but a run around. They have no problem billing your monthly payment.
I can only say “RUN” from this organization.
Easy to pay, hard to use
At emergency room visit for deep head laceration receptionist said Medishare not accepted. So no bills sent, and no credit for OOP expense (about 3000 dollars). No perceived value in continuing a program that is not accepted by my providers, so quitting after this year.
$160K bills shared 100% above my deductible
I got hospitalized for 6 days and ended up racking up $160K in bills, most of those bills were paid right away although the hospital took forever in getting the itemized room stay bills to Medishare but once they did the bills aside from my $6000 deductobe were paid and then the hospital even offered to settle my $6K for only $1800 in cash after Medishare had already paid them the rest so that was awesome!
very satisfied
I’m with Christian Care Medi-Share since 2002. I’ve been along with my wife thru multiple severe surgeries( my wife Colon Cancer- me-carotid stent plus prostrate surgery).
They are pretty good in reviewing all bills in a timely manner and cutting down all fancy costs invoiced by hospitals and service providers -thus making those bills lean and mean- to my delight.
Other than your anual household cost-they paid for everything else.
You want to make sure you look for a service provider within PHCS network or Multiplan.
The only negative is when a service provider is calling Christian Care Medi Share-whoever is answering the phone from Medi Share goes like-we are not insurance. They should say-we are not commercial insurance ,but group insurance.
Nevertheless, lately most service providers heard about Medi-Share and knows how to bill them.
I’m also using a trick to save time and stress-by printing out from the Medi-Share site the specific provider I want to see and show that print out to the service provider goofy from the front desk.
That is expediting the whole process and no more questions asked.
Wasn’t very impressed
Very stressful and time consuming to get bills paid, if they were paid. We spent over a year to get them paid. We paid a lot of our own bills as we had so many sent to collections and were hurting our credit. Cancelling is just as bad. We are in month 4 of trying to cancel and they still keep taking out payments. Would not recommend at all.
Covid Fraud
My husband was hospitalized with covid in December 2021. It was nearly fatal, thank God he survived. MediShare refused to pay the bills saying that since they are “not considered insurance” that we had to look to a government fund to foot the bill. This went on for 5 months, with the government refusing to pay the bill because they did most certainly consider MediShare an insurance company. It was hell on earth. Finally, I filed a complaint with the Iowa Attorney General, and another one with the Better Business Bureau. MediShare finally coughed it up. Needless to say we have purchased regular insurance coverage and are in the process of dropping MediShare. Terrible company. Stay away from them. I hope they are investigated for Covid fraud. It’s questionable whether or not this company is actually managed by Christians.
Multiple attempts to obtain assistance via phone…no return call (as promised)…multiple failures of call transfers…multiple single ring ‘hang ups’
Horrible service when attempting to access member services..failed call transfers..hang up after 1 ring…i tried 3 different numbers(same result). One associate promised i would receive a call(due to failed transfers)..i received no call
Communication poor
Horrible communication. They deposit sons money in fathers account and then send sons late notices. They don’t fix their billing mistakes – they send e- mails that make no sense
Communication poor
My husband and son have same name- one is junior and the other the third. They put both of their deposits into dads account— then send son late notices. Rarely can get a person on the phone. So I sent detailed letter for them to correction. A week later, I receive two e mails from them. They both ask for the providers name we are trying to get re- imbursed for….. we never asked to be re- imbursed——- so very frustrating to work with. One son is getting regular insurance and will soon cancel. Rest of family is looking for something better also. Communication horrible.
