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Have you ever wondered if there’s an alternative to traditional health insurance? Something that’s cost-effective, flexible, and community-driven? Well, the answer is a resounding “yes”! Welcome to the world of health sharing plans, a revolutionary approach to managing healthcare costs. Amidst the sea of health sharing organizations, netWell Healthshare stands as a beacon of hope for thousands of individuals seeking a better way to manage their healthcare costs.
Short Summary
- Experience the amazing benefits of health sharing plans, with netWell Healthshare offering flexible enrollment & great coverage!
- Get excited about accessing quality care at discounted rates and freedom to choose any healthcare provider in the US.
- Excitingly weigh pros & cons of netWell for personalized assistance on your healthcare journey!
Understanding Health Sharing Plans
Let’s break down the mystery surrounding health sharing plans. These plans are not insurance, but rather a low-cost alternative that allows members to share medical costs. The concept is built on the age-old principle of sharing burdens within a community. In comparison to other health sharing plans, the benefits and structure may vary, but the core idea of health sharing remains the same.
Health sharing has been gaining popularity, and it’s easy to see why. It provides a refreshing departure from the often complex and costly traditional health insurance landscape. It gives members access to affordable healthcare and fosters a sense of community by joining individuals under the common goal of shared health care cost sharing.
The rise of health sharing programs
The popularity of health sharing programs can be attributed to their affordability and community-based approach to healthcare costs. Unlike traditional insurance, these programs are not bound by set enrollment periods, providing flexibility to members. This freedom to enroll any time of the year is a breath of fresh air for many, especially for those who missed the open enrollment period of traditional health insurance.
With health sharing programs, also known as health care sharing ministry, members share the costs of medical expenses, making healthcare more affordable for all, in line with the goals of the Affordable Care Act.
Benefits of health sharing
Health sharing plans pack a plethora of benefits. Think of them as a treasure chest where every coin represents a unique advantage. They offer lower monthly costs compared to insurance premiums, making healthcare cost sharing more affordable.
But the benefits are not just monetary. These plans offer the freedom to choose your healthcare providers, providing a flexibility that some traditional health insurance plans lack. Add to this the sense of community among members who share similar beliefs and values, and you get a unique alternative to traditional health insurance plans.
netWell Healthshare: An In-Depth Look
Let’s dive into the world of netWell Healthshare. netWell is a Christian health sharing plan that enables its members to mutually exchange qualifying healthcare expenses. This voluntary system creates an atmosphere of shared responsibility and mutual support between members who share similar values. With more than 25,000 members, netWell provides a broad pool for healthcare cost sharing.
But what sets netWell apart is its respect for individual faiths. Unlike some health sharing ministries, netWell does not require you to attend services regularly or to profess any particular faith. This respect for individual faith and the freedom it offers to its members make netWell a preferred choice for many.
Membership tiers and costs
NetWell offers two membership tiers: Advantage and Elite+. The Advantage plan is the more affordable option, covering hospitalization costs, emergency room visits, surgery, and lab costs. However, it does not cover primary care visits or specialist visits.
The Elite+ plan offers a robust set of benefits, including:
- Discount services for dental, vision, and LASIK
- Diabetic supplies
- Gym memberships
- And more
Whether you’re a young individual in good health or a family looking for comprehensive coverage, netWell has a plan for you.
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for netWell Healthshare, you must:
- Share common ethical or religious beliefs
- Be a member of a 501c3 organization
- Choose a membership option
- Pay the monthly contribution amount, which ranges from $144 to $269 depending on the tier selected.
However, netWell does not impose a specific faith requirement. As long as you agree to the Statement of Religious and Ethical Beliefs, you can join netWell, making it a truly inclusive community.
Comparing netWell to Other Health Sharing Ministries
When compared to other health sharing ministries, netWell Healthshare stands tall with its competitive coverage and benefits. It has an incredibly lenient pre-existing conditions policy, making it a viable option for many who would otherwise struggle to find coverage.
With unique offerings like mental health support and maternity coverage, netWell Healthshare offers a comprehensive health sharing plan that caters to a wide range of healthcare needs.
Coverage and benefits
NetWell offers an impressive range of coverage and benefits, with a personal benefits manager to assist you. From mental health support to maternity coverage, netWell has got you covered. It goes the extra mile to ensure its members get the best of healthcare services without breaking the bank.
This commitment to providing comprehensive benefits sets netWell apart from many other health sharing ministries.
Pre-existing conditions policies
One of the key factors to consider when choosing a health sharing plan is its policy on pre-existing conditions. NetWell shines in this aspect as well. It imposes a 24-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions, which is less stringent than some other health sharing ministries.
This makes netWell a viable option for those with pre-existing conditions who may otherwise be ineligible for coverage under other plans.
Mental Health Benefits and Support
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and netWell understands this. It offers access to qualified counselors and the Mooditude App for personalized mental health assistance and support.
With these resources at your fingertips, managing your mental health becomes a breeze.
Access to qualified counselors
NetWell offers telecounseling and eHome Counseling services, providing members with access to qualified mental health professionals. These counselors are available 24/7, offering urgent, emergency, and crisis counseling at no additional cost to the netWell member.
Whether you’re dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issue, you can count on netWell’s team of professionals for help.
Mooditude App
In addition to counseling services, netWell members also get access to the Mooditude App. This app is a comprehensive mental health solution that offers resources to manage issues such as:
- loneliness
- addiction
- burnout
- depression
- impulsive behavior
- and more
It provides a safe space to navigate mental health concerns and offers tools to help set goals, build habits, and access a supportive community, all contributing to a healthy lifestyle.
The app also includes a library of articles, videos, and podcasts to help users learn more.
Maternity and Preventative Care
NetWell also offers robust maternity and preventative care offerings. These offerings include coverage for pregnancy and delivery costs for normal and C-section deliveries under the Elite+ plan.
NetWell’s Elite+ plan offers members $1500 per year for preventative care. This is a great way to look after your health and save costs. Whether you’re planning for a family or focused on preventing health issues, netWell has got you covered.
Maternity coverage
Planning for a family? netWell’s got your back. The Elite+ plan offers full maternity benefits, covering pregnancy and delivery costs for normal and C-section deliveries up to $15,000, provided the member’s eligibility requirements are met.
Maternity benefits can only be shared after a 6-month waiting period. This period must occur before conception. With netWell, you can focus on the joy of starting a family without having to worry about the costs.
Preventative care options
Preventative care costs are sharable under the Elite+ plan, allowing members to access screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure, and other preventative care costs up to $1500 per member per year.
However, preventative care coverage is not available under the Advantage plan. Advantage plan members are highly encouraged to consider a direct primary care plan for preventative care coverage.
Provider Networks and Flexibility
NetWell Healthshare offers:
- An extensive provider network
- Flexibility in choosing healthcare providers
- Negotiated preferred pricing with some providers through the PHCS/Multiplan network, which is the largest network in the country with over 1,000,000 providers.
This access to a broad network of providers and the freedom to choose any provider in the US without restrictions makes netWell a preferred choice for many.
PHCS/Multiplan network
The PHCS/Multiplan network is a national PPO network accredited by NCQA for credentialing. NetWell negotiates preferred pricing with some providers through this network, offering members access to quality care at discounted rates.
This network provides a broader choice of healthcare providers, ensuring members have access to the care they need, when they need it.
Freedom to choose providers
NetWell offers its members the freedom to choose any provider in the US without restrictions. This flexibility sets netWell apart from many traditional health insurance plans that often restrict members to a specific network of providers.
With netWell, you have the freedom to choose the healthcare provider that best suits your needs.
The Bottom Line: Is netWell Right for You?
Deciding if netWell is right for you comes down to weighing its pros and cons. Like any health sharing plan, netWell offers significant advantages such as lower costs than traditional insurance, no network restrictions, and the ability to choose your own healthcare providers.
However, it also has its limitations, such as benefits being limited for pre-existing conditions. But don’t worry, netWell offers personalized assistance to help you make the best decision for your health care needs.
Pros and cons
NetWell offers significant advantages, including lower costs than traditional insurance, no network restrictions, and the freedom to choose your own healthcare providers. However, it also has its limitations. Benefits are limited for pre-existing conditions, and there’s no guarantee of payment for medical bills.
It’s important to weigh these pros and cons before deciding if netWell is the right choice for you.
Personalized assistance
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the decision-making process, don’t worry. NetWell offers personalized assistance to help you navigate your options. They can help you understand your options, provide guidance on the best plan for your needs, and answer any questions you may have.
With netWell, you’re not alone in your health care journey, as we collaborate with independent health organizations to support you.
Summary
To sum up, health sharing plans like netWell Healthshare offer a refreshing alternative to traditional health insurance. They provide a community-based approach to healthcare costs, offering lower costs, flexibility, and a sense of community. With its wide range of benefits, including mental health support and maternity coverage, netWell stands tall among other health sharing ministries. However, like any plan, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons and consider your individual health care needs before making a decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is netWell?
netWell is a Christian health care sharing ministry (HCSM) that shares a common set of religious and ethical beliefs, enabling members to contribute and share in each other’s eligible medical needs.
Come join the netWell family today!
How does netWell work?
NetWell works by connecting members with similar religious and ethical beliefs. Members pay a monthly contribution and share each other’s eligible medical requests based on those beliefs, offering significant savings compared to Affordable Care Act-qualified insurance policies.
Excitingly, netWell provides health care for its members as a family!
What is a health sharing plan?
Health sharing plans are an affordable and community-focused way of managing healthcare expenses. They offer an alternative to traditional health insurance by allowing members to share medical costs.
How does netWell Healthshare compare to traditional health insurance?
NetWell Healthshare is an affordable alternative to traditional health insurance, with no network restrictions and the freedom to choose your own healthcare providers.
However, it does have limitations, like limited benefits for pre-existing conditions.
What mental health support does netWell Healthshare offer?
Experience personalized mental health support with netWell Healthshare, giving you access to qualified counselors and the Mooditude App!
With netWell Healthshare, you can get the help you need to manage your mental health. Connect with qualified counselors and use the Mooditude App to track your progress and get personalized advice. Get the facts.
Should you Join netWell?
There are a lot of great options out there to choose from, which is why I 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.
Write a Joppa Health Share Review
Are you a current or former member of Joppa Health Share? If you have any experience with Joppa Health Share, please write your own Joppa Health 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 Joppa Health Share review!
do NOT recommend
We switched to netWell in January 2023 and had a great experience initially. As with most of the rest of the country, we were tired of insurance premiums and their lack of coverage, so we switched to a less traditional coverage with netWell after a lot of research and contemplation. This year after a bout with *****, I ended up having heart issues. For the first time in my life, I went to see a cardiologist. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of the nightmare, rather than the beginning of healing and getting relief. As one would assume, dealing with heart issues has been extremely unnerving. After a total run around with netWell for over five weeks, they have decided that I have a preexisting condition and will not cover the further testing that my cardiologist has ordered. When I called to inquire about what I could do at this point, I was given very vague answers that don’t apply to my case. I was also told that “a clinician” reported their findings. Apparently a netWell “clinician” trumps a cardiologist. I indeed do NOT have a preexisting as stated by the cardiologist. The lady I spoke to in pre-authorization was quite rude and condescending to me when I spoke to her, offering no compassion, no help, no answers. I am at a spot where I need to have these tests as a measure of preventative care. It seems netWell would rather have a potential ICU stay or worse on their hands. The handling of my care makes me unable to recommend netWell to anyone, which is unfortunate, because prior to this, we would have recommended them to anyone (and we did). Companies like them have the chance to change the industry standards for health insurance, but they have proven to be just like the rest – a total scam with a lack of compassion for their customers.
DO NOT JOIN
I can’t even begin to tell you the nightmare this has been. All of the “in network” doctors on their website do not know what this medical coverage is. They eventually do not cover the visit when the doctor’s office reaches out for payment. I am now stuck with over $600 in bills for the office visits from my daughter having an ear infection,. Nothing fancy or unusual. I also went to three different stat cares listed on their approved list and I was turned away, saying I couldn’t be seen because this company did not exist in their system. I had to self pay at the third location to be seen, and NetWell will not reimburse this visit without a super bill. The stat care does not produce super bills for self paying customers.
I am beyond furious that I fell for this scam of a company. They do not have any doctors that I could find on their approved list that accepted them. CVS couldn’t find them in their system. And now I am stuck paying almost $1,000 in visits and medications that were not covered. I reached out to the broker that I bought this from and said I felt lied to and taken advantage of. He yelled at me. Saying he has hundreds of customers that get their office visits and medications approved. Search around. You won’t find one positive review anywhere and I feel like a sucker that fell for this company.
Negative 100 Stars – DO NOT USE NETWELL!
After paying thousands in premium payments for over a year and half, they have yet to reimburse us. I have reached out to many managers and representatives and they either deny the request or require more documentation or information (I have had to call my provider to got the info even though that is their job.. but they have clearly told me, they won’t wait on the phone for providers). Waiting weeks for replies or any kind of communication and say the visit is denied due to pre existing condition or not enough documentation in addition to their website not working to even submit reimbursements. And the medical codes and info needed is NOT my responsibility and being a new mom and pregnant, I was required to spend HOURS searching for this information that they are required and paid to do.
This so called Christian organization isn’t insurance and Oregon doesn’t qualify it as that – after a year and a half not knowing this and being promised reimbursements, Complaints have been filed and more to come to Netwell.
netWell works on assumption your conditions are pre-existing
So far, netWell has denied everything I’ve sent to them under the claim that it is a pre-existing condition. After they deny based on this, the burden of proof is now on me to prove it is not a pre-existing condition and they require two years of medical files. After receiving medical files, they are not interested to determine whether or not the condition is truly pre-existing. Instead, they scoure the files to look for even one sentence that could provide the flimsiest proof that a condition is pre-existing and then continue to deny payment or pre-approval. They are behaving as a for profit business instead of a non-profit Christian charity. I know the love of Christ and this IS NOT it.
It’s important to know they define pre-existing condition as basically any condition that is pre-existent to the coverage, whether or not you knew about it. Get that. Both you and your doctors could have no idea a condition is present and if you discover it after you’ve started coverage with netWell, if logic suggests the condition took a while to form and thus probably started before you started coverage, they will deny it as pre-existing.
This is exactly what happened with my son. He broke his leg two and a half years ago. At the time, the doctors said the break IS NOT in the growth plate and thus all he needed was a cast and no surgery. After the cast was removed more than 2.5 years ago there were no issues and no follow-up on the broken leg.
Fast forward to July 1st and I started coverage with netWell. I had coverage with my companies insurance plan until June 30th and so I’ve never been without some sort of coverage for my family and I. A few days into this month all of my kids had their yearly pediatric exam, which I paid for out of pocket because netWell has a 90 day limit before they start covering anything that is not emergency related.
On a side note, I did go to the emergency room in the first 90 days, and they denied that too as a pre-existing condition. I’ve had back problems here and there in my life and I threw my back out deadlifting. So their business model is to make the assumption that even though I was fine before I deadlifted and not after, that this was due to a pre-existing condition and not deadlifting. I hadn’t had any major back problems for about 3 years, they ask for two years of med records, which showed no visits for back issues and they still denied this emergency room visit even though they claim that they do cover emergencies in the first 90 days. But this is a side point. The main point is what is happening with my kid.
So at the doctors visit, the doctor was looking over my 11 year old son and said, “You know what, I think you need to go back to the specialist about his leg. It doesn’t look like it is growing right. My wife looks at it and tells the doctor that she thinks she can see what he is talking about.
It’s very important to note that before this visit, which was after I started coverage with netWell that the specialist my son had seen 2.5 years before told us the break WAS NOT in the growth plate and that his leg would heal and grow fine and during that period in between his last visit with that specialist and this visit to his pediatrition, not him, not his mother, not I and not a single one medical professional had professed any concern that his leg was not growing straight. There was zero medical proof of any such thing. NetWell however does not require medical proof of a condition to deny it. They only require that there was any sign or symptom of that condition and in the lack of proof of sign or symptom of that condition, they will apparently simply assume that there had to be some sort of sign or symptom, because this is what they’ve done.
So, we go to the specialist about a week later and they confirm the leg is growing crooked, he has to have surgery to correct it, it needs to happen as quickly as possible and that this means that in fact the fracture did enter the growth plate, which they had specifically diagnosed as not the case 2.5 years before.
So the provider schedules the surgery, they submit to netWell and netWell denies because they say it is a pre-existing condition, I need to provide 2 years records to prove it isn’t pre-existing, and also it is in the first 90 day period so even though the provider says surgery needs to happen imminently, this is not enough of an emergency for netWell. The 90 limit is not the real problem here though.
So I appeal this decision and provide 2 years of all medical records for my son. The appeal process is 100% opaque. There is no due process, no getting to represent myself and my son and make our case. Simply send an email appeal, provide the medical records and wait 30 days to be denied again.
So I call and raise hell on the phone several times until I finally get to talk to a “director” of something or another. I’m told the reason it is pre-existing is that the medical record for my sons most recent visit to the specialist listed down that the mother said, “within the last 2.5 years I had noticed deformity to the leg.” They claimed this is proof of a symptom being present prior to starting coverage.
This argument was monumentally easy to disprove. I asked them if it said when in the last 2.5 years. Note the medical record does not say when, just sometime. I asked them if it was possible that it was 2.5 or 2.4 years ago. They tried to claim they are not doctors and can’t provide me with clinical expertise. I said that I am asking them for their expertise on why they are denying the claim, not to give me clinical advise, which I would never follow if they did. I pointed out that 2.5 years ago was when care had ended and so it was impossible that the deformity was noted by my wife 2.5 years because there was zero time for it to have formed yet. Ergo when the doctor noted that my wife said she had noted deformity in the last 2.5 years, it could have been ANY TIME in that time period, but not 2.5 or 2.4 years ago because that would have been medically impossible. Ergo for all they know, my wife had noted this very recently, after coverage had begun.
And this is in fact the truth. I checked with my wife to make sure. She had NOT noticed it prior to the pediatric visit, but after it was pointed out by the professional, she did see it. So, when she went to the specialist she had been seeing this deformity for about a week and thus said to that doctor, yes, I can see it, I did notice it (after being prompted by that doctor to answer that question.) I confirmed this with my wife and let them know that in fact it had been noticed during the last 2.5 year period, but only after coverage had started.
Anyway, this director took my argument back to their opaque review board and she left a message last week to let me know it was still denied. I need to call them back to see if they are still using the same argument or if they’ve updated it a little. I did record that last phone call and I will record every phone call from here on.
This is an $18,000 surgery that my son really needs before he hits his next growth spurt. The problem was noticed in July and surgery scheduled for August. It is not October 31st and still being denied. I will have to wait for coverage to start with my new company for work that will be ACA coverage to get his surgery.
In my opinion, netWell needs to be run out of existence. They should have to have the same definition for pre-existing condition that hospitals use and they should lean toward wanting to cover peoples medical needs, not lean toward assuming everything is a pre-existing condition and denying everything, putting the burden of proof on the patient and “member”, and then continuing to deny through a totally opaque review process. I feel this company is evil while pretending to be the highest level of good. I feel no compassion from these people and feel that I have been lied to and taken advantage of.
I’m very happy to answer questions. Email me at joshdfranken@protonmail.com. I will be contacting my states and netWell’s states attorney generals as well as legal council. I’m not the first person to bring suit against netWell for basically this reason. You can find more on the internet, look it up.
