Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share) vs Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM)

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In this post, I am going to do a comparison of Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share) and Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM).

I will go over member responsibility amounts (what member’s pay before the community shares in any medical bills), monthly costs (this is dependent on age, individual/family memberships, and the Member Responsibility amount you choose), preventative sharing, pre-existing conditions, maternity, turnaround time to pay medical bills, and any special considerations to be aware of.

Member Responsibility Amounts

Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share) 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 eligible bills may be shared among the Members. The AHP amount resets every 12 months on the Effective Date. Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share) has several AHP amounts: $3000, $6000, $9000, and $12000.

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM) Personal Responsibility Amount: Christian Healthcare Ministries has three levels of participation; Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Each level offers different levels of health cost sharing support.

The Gold Level – The Personal Responsibility Amount is $1,000 per incident.

Silver Level – The Personal Responsibility Amount is $2,500 per incident.

Bronze Level – The Personal Responsibility Amount is $5000 per incident.

Incident = An incident includes medical treatment or testing that lasts until one of the following events occur:

1. A certain medical condition is cured according to official medical records;
2. Treatment is at a routine maintenance routine; or
3. You experience 90 days without any kind of treatment for that particular condition. The medical bills incurred from the first test to the last treatment before the doctor releases you to a regular, routine maintenance regimen are considered a single incident. If 90 days pass and you receive no further treatment, any future bills you incur will be considered a separate incident.

Monthly Contribution Price Range

Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share): $81 to $1,229 

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM): $78 to $516 + additional costs per year and per quarter for the Brother’s Keeper if you want unlimited sharing.

Statement of Faith

Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share): Must agree to their specific qualifications for a “Christian Testimony”. Not all Christian denominations will fit into these beliefs. 

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM): Must agree to their specific Christian qualifications. Not all Christian denominations will fit into these beliefs. 

For more detailed information on faith-based requirements, please read this post about Christian HealthShare Plans.

If you prefer a HealthShare that has no religious requirements, please read my post about Non-Religious HealthShare Plans.

Preventative Sharing

Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share): 1 routine physical (2 labs) per year. Must use the PCHS Network. 

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM): Will share in preventative needs as long as you pay your member responsibility first. For example, if you are in the Bronze Plan, you would need to pay for all medical bills that are less than $5,000 per incident. If you are in the Gold Plan, you would pay for medical bills that are less than $1,000. When you look at how much preventative services cost, most of it will not be considered shareable and part of the Member’s Personal Responsibility – especially on the Silver and Bronze plans.

Pre-Existing Conditions

Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share): After 3 years of membership, up to $300,000/year shareable and after 5 years of membership, up to $500,000 /year is shareable with the Health Share community. 

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM): 1 year waiting period for most conditions. For cancer specifically, there is a 5 year waiting period before anything relating to it can be considered shareable.

For more detailed information, please read my post about How The Top HealthShare’s Handle Pre-Existing Conditions.

Maternity

Christian Care Ministry (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 member responsibility amount. 

Sharing is limited to $125,000 for any single pregnancy event, to include antepartum care, the cost of delivery and complications to the mother and/or child(ren) and postpartum care.

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM): The member would need to first pay their member responsibility amount. Maternity sharing is only available on the Gold Level plan. In the Bronze Level and Silver Level plans, they will not share in any maternity expenses. 

Feel free to learn more at The Top HealthShare’s Maternity Benefits (Comparison Guide).

Turnaround Time for Paying Medical Bills

Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share): 30 business days 

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM): 60 days

Considerations

Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share): There are so many programs and price points that it can become confusing on what is and isn’t shared with the community. 

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM): You are capped at $125,000 per illness (this is not per year; its for the lifetime), unless you pay extra for the Brother’s Keeper program, which gives you an additional $100,000 of sharing per year you are a member until you are capped at $1 million per illness (which you don’t have until you have been a member for nine years).  If you pay for the Gold Level Membership and pay extra for the Brother’s Keeper program, then you will have unlimited sharing available to you immediately (on eligible needs).

Which Health Share Plan Should You Join?

Choosing a Health Share plan is a very personal decision. Feel free to check out Christian Care Ministry Reviews (Medi-Share Reviews) and Christian Healthcare Ministries Reviews (CHM Reviews). I provide a lot more information on each Health Share and you can read reviews from other members. 

There are so many different Health Share plans to choose from, which is great, but it can also be overwhelming! To help narrow down your choices, I wrote an 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.