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In this post, I am going to do a comparison of Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share) and Liberty HealthShare.
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.
Liberty HealthShare Annual Unshared Amount (AUA): The Annual Unshared Amount for each program level must be paid before medical costs are eligible for sharing. Your AUA amount is determined by your account type;
Single: $1,000 (Liberty Unite and Liberty Connect) or $4,000 (Liberty Essential Plan)
Couple: $1,750 (Liberty Unite), $2,000 (Liberty Connect) or $8,000 (Liberty Essential Plan)
Family: $2,250 (Liberty Unite), $3,000 (Liberty Connect) or $12,000 (Liberty Essential Plan)
After you fulfill your Annual Unshared Amount (AUA), you may share eligible medical costs.
Monthly Contribution Price Range
Christian Care Ministry (Medi-Share): $81 to $1,229
Liberty HealthShare: $159 to $1,239 + $50 extra for each family member over 5 people.
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.
Liberty HealthShare: Must agree to adhering Christian standards and beliefs. The required beliefs are less strict or specific than other religious HealthShares, but they do require members to “participate regularly in worship or prayer”.
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.
Liberty HealthShare: Annual wellness visits are shared up to $400 per visit. After two months of membership, mammograms, prostate examinations, and cologuard are shareable every other year or yearly after 50 years of age.
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.
Liberty HealthShare: During the first year of membership, there is a waiting period for pre-existing conditions. During the second and third year, they will share up to $50,000 for pre-existing conditions. After the fourth year, they do not consider it a pre-existing condition anymore.
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.
Liberty HealthShare: Not eligible for sharing on the Liberty Select plan. There is a six month waiting period to have maternity needs shared on the other plans (for all members who start on or after March 1st, 2021).
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
Liberty HealthShare: 90 Days
UPDATE: Liberty HealthShare sent out an email on 03/01/2022 to all members stating that they have a backlog on paying for people’s medical bills. Members are currently waiting longer than 90 days to have their medical bills paid for.
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.
Liberty HealthShare: The biggest consideration for Liberty HealthShare is their current backlog on paying for people’s medical bills, which has resulted in a lawsuit. Liberty HealthShare sent out an email to their members on 03/01/2022 and said that they were making big changes in leadership, to their membership plans, and to their pricing to help fix current issues.
It’s also important to consider membership plan’s caps and limitations:
Liberty Unite Plan – Up to $1 million shareable per incident after AUA has been met.
Liberty Connect – Up to $1 million shareable per incident after AUA has been met. Members pay a 15% co-share.
Liberty Essential – Up to $600,000 sharable per incident after AUA has been met. Members pay a 25% co-share.
Find out which HealthShare I recommend at The Best HealthShare for Individuals and Families.
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 Liberty HealthShare 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.
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