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In this post, I am going to do a detailed comparison of Solidarity HealthShare and Zion 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), preventive sharing, pre-existing or pre-membership conditions, maternity, turnaround time to pay medical bills, and any special considerations to be aware of.
Member Responsibility Amounts
Solidarity HealthShare: The Annual Unshared Amount is the amount of money each member is responsible for regarding their health care costs before other members will begin sharing with them. They have four levels of personal responsibilty to choose from: $3,000, $6,000, $9,000, and $12,000.
Zion HealthShare: The initial unshareable amount, or IUA, is the amount that a member will pay before the Zion HealthShare community shares in medical expenses. The IUA is also known as your personal responsibility. Zion HealthShare has three primary levels of personal responsibility: $1,000, $2,500, and $5,000. The lower your personal responsibility (or IUA), the higher your monthly contribution will be.
All qualifying medical bills submitted after the IUA is met are shareable with the Zion HealthShare community at one hundred percent. There is no annual or lifetime limit. For each separate sharing request, the Zion HealthShare community will share medical costs after the IUA is met. You will not need to pay the IUA for a single sharing request again until you are symptom free for 12 months. Additionally, you will not be responsible for more than three IUAs in a rolling 12-month period.
Monthly Contribution Price Range
Solidarity HealthShare: $91 to $899
Zion HealthShare: $111 to $856
Statement of Faith
Solidarity HealthShare: Must agree to live by biblical principles and respects the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. Medical expenses related to anything that goes against Catholic ethics are not shareable.
Zion HealthShare: None – They accept people of all faiths.
Preventive Sharing
Solidarity HealthShare: They offer one annual wellness exam or physical per year. They allow multiple well baby visits per year within the first two years of birth.
Zion HealthShare: Immediately after becoming a member, Zion HealthShare will share in one Annual provider visit (not including lab work, unless it’s related to a specific medical sharing request) per member per year. After six months of membership, they will share in colonoscopy, mammogram, and youth immunizations.
While Zion HealthShare encourages members to use providers in the PHCS network, there are no network limitations for preventive services, so you can go to any provider of your choice.
Pre-Existing or Pre-Membership Conditions
Solidarity HealthShare: There is a 1 year waiting period, then in the second and third year, they offer up to $25,000 sharing and in the fourth year they no longer consider it a pre-existing condition.
Zion HealthShare: During the first year of membership, there is a waiting period for all pre-membership conditions. During the second year of membership, Zion HealthShare will share up to $25,000 for pre-membership conditions. During the third year of membership, they will share up to $50,000 for pre-membership conditions. During the fourth year of membership and beyond, they will share up to $125,000 per year for pre-membership conditions.
At Zion HealthShare, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes (types 1 and 2) will not be considered pre-membership conditions as long as the member has not been hospitalized for the condition in the past 12 months and is able to control it through medication and/or diet.
Maternity
Solidarity HealthShare: Members must be married in order to have maternity and newborn needs shared. Members would need to pay their member responsibility before maternity needs are shared.
Zion HealthShare: Zion HealthShare has specific guidelines for maternity sharing to help members plan for pregnancy and delivery.
Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA):
$5,000 Household IUA → $5,000 Maternity IUA
$1,000 Household IUA → $2,500 Maternity IUA
$2,500 Household IUA → $2,500 Maternity IUA
Eligibility & Waiting Period:
- Conception must occur after 6 months of continuous membership (confirmed by medical records).
- Members must submit requests within 6 months of the first date of service.
- Members must submit bills within 6 months of service.
- Exception: memberships started before April 1, 2025, and employer group memberships are not subject to the 6-month waiting period.
To get more details, check out my full Zion HealthShare review.
Caps and Limitations
Solidarity HealthShare: After paying your AUA, Solidarity HealthShare offers plans that will share 70% of medical bills up to $125,000 or 100% of your medical bills up $125,000 or up to $1 million per incident (depending on which plan you choose).
Zion HealthShare: Zion HealthShare does not have annual or lifetime caps on eligible sharing requests (except with the phase-in sharing for pre-membership conditions).
Turnaround Time for Paying Medical Bills
Solidarity HealthShare: 90 days
Zion HealthShare: 5-10 Business Days
Solidarity HealthShare vs Zion HealthShare
After reviewing the the costs and what medical costs are shared with members, it’s easy to see why I prefer Zion HealthShare.
In summary, here are a few reasons:
- Zion HealthShare accepts members of all faiths. They are a community of individuals who strive to live a healthy lifestyle and want to share in the costs of one another’s medical burdens. With a healthier community of members, this helps keep costs down for everyone.
- Zion HealthShare members typically save 30-60% off of traditional Health Insurance.
- Zion HealthShare does not have annual or lifetime caps on eligible sharing requests. This gives people peace of mind if very large medical expenses come up, they are not capped.
- Zion HealthShare is known in the industry and to its members for processing medical sharing requests quickly – often within five to ten business days (once all receipts and bills are submitted)!
- Zion HealthShare allows people with pre-membership conditions to join the health share – rather than denying them. Instead, they offer a waiting period for pre-membership conditions and a phase-in of sharing in these pre-membership conditions.
- Immediately after becoming a member, Zion HealthShare will share in Annual provider visits. After six months of membership, they will share in colonoscopy, mammogram, and youth immunizations.
- Zion HealthShare is a Nationwide HealthShare. US residents in every state – except Washington State – can become a member.
- Zion HealthShare will share in emergency or urgent medical expenses incurred outside the United States.
- Members can work with providers of their choice – without network restrictions.
Which Health Share Should You Join?
Choosing a Health Share is a very personal decision. Feel free to check out Solidarity HealthShare Reviews and Zion 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 Shares 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. You will find which health shares I recommend to help you on your search for affordable healthcare.
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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