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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), preventative sharing, pre-existing 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. This amount is $750 if you’re single, $1,500 for a couple, and $2,500 for a family.
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 expenses 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 need, the Zion HealthShare community will share medical costs after the IUA is met. You will not need to pay the IUA for a single need 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: $149 to $599
Zion HealthShare: $103 to $790
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.
Preventative 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 need) 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 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-existing conditions. During the second year of membership, Zion HealthShare will share up to $25,000 for pre-existing conditions. During the third year of membership, they will share up to $50,000 for pre-existing conditions. During the fourth year of membership and beyond, they will share up to $125,000 per year for pre-existing conditions.
At Zion HealthShare, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes (types 1 and 2) will not be considered pre-existing 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: Members would just pay their Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA). This is the amount that the member chooses when they first join Zion HealthShare. If you opt for a home birth, you may submit a request to have your IUA responsibility waived by Zion HealthShare.
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 need requests (except with the phase-in sharing for pre-existing conditions).
Turnaround Time for Paying Medical Bills
Solidarity HealthShare: 90 days
Zion HealthShare: 5-10 Business Days
CASE STUDY: Comparing Costs of Solidarity HealthShare and Zion HealthShare
I am going to compare costs between the Solidarity HealthShare Premier and the Zion HealthShare Direct Membership Plans. These two programs are the most compatible for how much is eligible for sharing with the member.
Please note: The AUA amounts are different in the examples for Solidarity HealthShare. That’s because the AUA is not a choice, but determined by whether you have a single individual or family account. I put two different IUA amounts for Zion HealthShare so you can better compare plans and prices.
Example #1
Household: Single Individual
Age of oldest person in the family: 25 years old
Tobacco Use: None
Costs:
| Solidarity HealthShare – Premier $750 AUA | Zion HealthShare Direct Membership -$1,000 IUA | Zion HealthShare Direct Membership -$2,500 IUA |
|---|---|---|
| $199.00/month | $185.00/month | $130.00/month |
Example #2
Household: Family (Married Couple with Children in the home)
Age of oldest person in the family: 37 years old
Tobacco Use: None
Costs:
| Solidarity HealthShare – Premier $2,500 AUA | Zion HealthShare Direct Membership -$1,000 IUA | Zion HealthShare Direct Membership -$2,500 IUA |
|---|---|---|
| $549.00/month | $570.00/month | $460/month |
Solidarity HealthShare vs Zion HealthShare
After reviewing the the costs and what medical needs 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 need 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 needs quickly – often within five to ten business days (once all receipts and bills are submitted)!
- Zion HealthShare will negotiate your medical bills for you – big or small. This means that the bigger medical bills have less of an impact for the entire community. For smaller medical bills that are less than your Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA) and not normally shared within the community, you are not on your own! Submit that medical bill to Zion HealthShare and they will work to negotiate that price down for you, so that you can pay less money out of pocket.
- Zion HealthShare allows people with pre-existing conditions to join the health share – rather than denying them. Instead, they offer a waiting period for pre-existing conditions and a phase-in of sharing in these pre-existing 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, so you can live anywhere in the United States and become a member.
- Zion HealthShare will share in medical costs when on a vacation or serving a mission outside of the United States.
- Members can work with providers of their choice – without network restrictions.
Which Health Share Plan Should You Join?
Choosing a Health Share plan 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 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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