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In this post, I am going to do a comparison of Liberty HealthShare and Share Healthcare.
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
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.
Share Healthcare: Members can choose between three sharing levels as well as the option to choose between a Per Event Personal Expense (PEPE) or an Annual Unshared Amount (AUA). These are the amounts you pay on your own – either on a per incident or per year basis – before remaining eligible medical expenses can be shared.
Per Event Personal Expense amounts can be: $300, $500, or $1,000.
The Annual Unshared Amount can be: $3,300 (single), $3,600 (couple), or $3,900 (family)
Monthly Contribution Price Range
Liberty HealthShare: $159 to $1,239 + $50 extra for each family member over 5 people + $75 upon enrollment and every year.
Share Healthcare: $149 to $659 (plus $50 for each child after the first two) + $120.00 upon enrollment and every year.
Statement of Faith
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”.
Share Healthcare: Must agree to a Statement of Faith and must be Christian, meaning you believe in “the God of the Bible, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit”.
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
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.
Share Healthcare: Yearly wellness visits or screenings are eligible for sharing once your PEPE or AUA has been paid.
Pre-Existing Conditions
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.
Share Healthcare: Not eligible for sharing.
For more detailed information, please read my post about How The Top HealthShare’s Handle Pre-Existing Conditions.
Maternity
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).
Share Healthcare: After members pay their Per Event Personal Expense or Annual Unshared Amount, expenses related to labor, delivery and routine hospital expenses for the infant as well as expenses relating to any complications are eligible with NO waiting period or limits. If a member is pregnant within two months of membership beginning, maternity expenses will be shared at up to 50% of the member’s share contributions to that point. For example, if the member has paid $2,490 in monthly share amount to that point, up to $1,245 will be eligible to be shared by fellow members.
Feel free to learn more at The Top HealthShare’s Maternity Benefits (Comparison Guide).
Turnaround Time for Paying Medical Bills
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.
Share Healthcare: Unknown. When I called to speak to someone at Share Healthcare about this, I was told that it “depends on the provider” and I wasn’t even provided an estimate.
Considerations
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.
Share Healthcare: Share Healthcare does not have annual or lifetime caps on eligible need requests. Members must set up a bank account for sharing. Member’s monthly share amounts will remain in the individualized account until it is used to pay the medical expenses of fellow Share Healthcare members.
Which Health Share Plan Should You Join?
Choosing a Health Share plan is a very personal decision. Feel free to check out Liberty HealthShare Reviews and Share Healthcare 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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