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Home » Blog » Health Share » How Health Shares Got Their Start

How Health Shares Got Their Start

Updated October 30, 2023 by Holly Patiño Leave a Comment

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.

How Did Health Shares Get Started?

Health Shares began in the 1980s when a beloved pastor in Ohio was in a terrible car accident. The pastor’s congregation came together to pay for all of his medical bills in less than two months. This same church community decided to continue following the biblical mandate to “bear one another’s burdens” by sharing healthcare costs within their Christian community. This is how Health Shares got their start.

Health Sharing Today

Today, Health Share members across the country share in one another’s medical expenses in a similar way. Health Shares have been proven to be an effective alternative to traditional Health Insurance.

Health Share members get to enjoy the freedom, flexibility, save money, and the stability of a medical cost sharing community.

You can choose from one of the many Christian or Non-Religious Health Share Plans.

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.

Which Health Share Should I Join?

There are a lot of Health Share plans to choose from, which is great, but it can also get overwhelming! 

After much research on all of the Health Shares, I ended up writing an article on the Best Health Share Plans. In this post, I narrow it all down and let you know which health share plans I recommend.

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.  

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Filed Under: Health Share

Holly Patiño
Hello! My name is Holly, and I am so happy you have found my website! Before I left the workforce to become a stay-at-home mom, I spent 11 years working for an Investing Education company, later acquired by a large brokerage firm, where I specialized in Risk Management. With that experience, I have become very thorough with legal documents, which I used to comb through and really deep dive into each Health Share’s website to determine what medical bills are actually shareable with their members. I have created Health Share 101 to provide the information you need to make an educated decision for you and your family.

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