Anybody enrolled in cmf curo/samaritan healthshare?

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Wes2016

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My wife and I have health insurance through blue cross and blue shield and the costs are going through the roof. We pay in one month what we used to pay for three months. On top of that our deductables are over 13 thousand for the year to keep the monthly payments lower. So the insurance company never pays out anyway. We have been looking at cmf curo/samaritan heathshare and it looks to good to be true. We have talked to some people in our area and they have nothing but good things to say about health sharing. They all say that it makes them feel real good that they can send their monthly checks directly to a family in need. One person had a heart attack and they received every check along with notes of encoragement and prayers. It is also alowable for the afordable care act. Has anybody been a part of any health sharing ministries? Thanks and God bless.
 
I am. I signed up with both CMF Curo/Samaritan Ministries in December 2015, for the same reason you are considering it- my Blue Cross insurance was going up 20-30% a year for the past 3 years. I just didn’t want to keep doing that, knowing at some point I wouldn’t be able to afford it. Plus, like you, they never paid out anyway so it was just money down the drain every month. So as of Jan 1 2016 I was a CMF Curo/Samaritan Ministries member.

So in April of this year I experienced a health issue, which is ongoing. I had an ER visit, 5 doctors and multiple visits to several, 1 specialist, a CT scan, an upper endoscopy, a sonogram. I racked up over $7700 worth of bills in a very short period of time.

And…Samaritan is covering it, 100%. I got lucky, because for 3 months this year they didn’t have enough shares to cover people 100% and so people got prorated to 80%. Even so, that’s as good as you’ll ever get reimbursed from a health insurance. And my deductible with CMF/Samaritan is only $300.

The money has started coming in this month, and the delay is largely due to me taking forever to submit all my bills. Once I submitted, I started getting reimbursed the following month.

I do love that my check goes directly to someone in need. And now that I am on the receiving end, I love the cards and notes I’m getting from people who are praying for healing for me. No insurance company ever sent me a get well card. And the reality is that I not only have been saving money every month because the monthly share is less than my monthly premium had been with Blue Cross (by more than half) but I also came out way ahead on all my doctor bills because the 100% reimbursement was way more than I ever could have expected from Blue Cross.

The only real downside I’ve seen to it is that many doctors still seem a bit unaware of health sharing ministries. At the ER all they heard was “uninsured” and it was reflected in my care there- they seemed to want to minimize their financial risk with me. However, it didn’t affect my care anywhere else, all my other doctors accepted self-pay and most would give me 20-30% discount for being an uninsured client.

My own primary care doctor is familiar with health sharing ministries and she said she herself was considering switching to one because she said her patients love them. So I guess they are catching on. I think they will continue to grow as health insurance deductibles and premiums continue to rise.
 
Thanks that really helps us a alot. We are planning on taking the money that we save and put it into a seperate savings account in order to have an extra layer of protection. For us that amounts to about 400.00 a month. God Bless.
 
Wes2016 said:
My wife and I have health insurance through blue cross and blue shield and the costs are going through the roof. We pay in one month what we used to pay for three months. On top of that our deductables are over 13 thousand for the year to keep the monthly payments lower. So the insurance company never pays out anyway. We have been looking at cmf curo/samaritan heathshare and it looks to good to be true. We have talked to some people in our area and they have nothing but good things to say about health sharing. They all say that it makes them feel real good that they can send their monthly checks directly to a family in need. One person had a heart attack and they received every check along with notes of encoragement and prayers. It is also alowable for the afordable care act. Has anybody been a part of any health sharing ministries? Thanks and God bless.
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Yes, my husband and I joined Samaritan last fall. (The CMF Curo, which is the Catholic branch/version of Samaritan, costs more, so we have just gone with the regular Samaritan ministries.) So far the experience has been good. We had one need earlier this year that was mostly covered by Samaritan members (my old insurance would not have covered any of it).

I think it is a wonderful ministry and a great alternative to insurance; I would definitely recommend it. One caveat is that pre-existing conditions are not publishable needs, so depending on your medical issues, insurance may be a better option for some people.
 
Thanks, Your insights sure help us decide what to do. God Bless.
 
Hi, I signed up with Samaritan Ministries in December. Last June, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and my bills (for hysterectomy, hospital stay, chemotherapy, etc.) have been astronomical, if you can imagine.
Yesterday, I started receiving encouraging cards from other members, and the checks started coming in. It is such a relief and a blessing.
I don’t know if I will be cured:( but at least I’m not digging my family into a financial rut.
 
Thanks for your reply, I once had cancer back in 1989 and it is scary, but you can beat it. You now have my wife and I praying for you to get back to good health. I really like the idea of health sharing so I could send someone like you my monthly check along with a note of prayers and encouragement. To me that is priceless for the sender also. It just seems like the right thing to do. God Bless.
 
Wes2016 said:
Thanks for your reply, I once had cancer back in 1989 and it is scary, but you can beat it. You now have my wife and I praying for you to get back to good health. I really like the idea of health sharing so I could send someone like you my monthly check along with a note of prayers and encouragement. To me that is priceless for the sender also. It just seems like the right thing to do. God Bless.
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Thank you so much, and your wife, too. I need all the prayers I can get especially since I have 3 small children.😦

God bless you.
 
Anthony(name removed by moderator) said:
Thank you so much, and your wife, too. I need all the prayers I can get especially since I have 3 small children.😦

God bless you.
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You have my family’s prayers as well. So does your family.

It is very nice to see this thread. I have mentioned before on CAF Samaritan and other health sharing as an alternative to traditional insurance. I have family members that use Samaritan and have for years. They have nothing but positives to say about it, and these family members work in the health care industry as professionals. I am so glad that people are being so positive on this thread, and I love hearing how caring the members are to one another. To share in the health care of others through cost sharing and cards, letters and prayers benefits everyone. Encouraging each other along the way is a beautiful way to live. I hope to see this ministry grow and others spring up as well. joining all of you in prayer for all the members in need.
 
Anthony(name removed by moderator) said:
Thank you so much, and your wife, too. I need all the prayers I can get especially since I have 3 small children.😦

God bless you.
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I was thinking last night and maybe you have already done this, but go and see your priest and get the sacrament of healing. I know of a number of people in our parish that this has helped. Sometimes our priest even has a special mass and has anybody with a health problem come forward and receive the sacrament. It has helped me in the past as well. God bless.
 
Hi,

I enrolled in CMF Curo in January, thinking it was the Catholic branch connected to Samaritan. But I was enrolled straight in Samaritan, and then charged an extra $84 each month for ALSO being in CMF Curo. So far, I cannot see anything tangible that extra $84 purchases. I have asked several times, but can’t get an answer via email or voicemail and am just unable to have a lengthy phone conversation about it. It should be laid out in a black and white easy answer, but it’s not. I’m about to cancel the CMF portion, because it seems like a waste above Samaritan (which has been great).
 
Is there a lifetime or yearly cap on what Samaritan will cover?

How long after you submit a bill does it take for you to receive reimbursement? Some of my providers seem to send to collection awfully quickly.
 
I did alot of research on all of the heath share programs and we ended up joining Solidarityhealthshare for Catholics. They also welcome all Christians. I can tell you that they are very responsive and quick to answer any questions. I think it was one of the best moves that my wife and I have ever made. I did have one claim and it was paid very quickly. They have a great website and it answers your questions about the nuts and bolts of how it works. We used to have blue cross and blue shield and the monthly premiums more than tripled, so what we do now is take the savings from what we would have been paying and put it in a savings account and it is still in our name and we have control of our own healthcare. It is amazing how fast it adds up. Our deductables in our old plan were so hi that it was like having no insurance at all. Thanks and God Bless.
 
I’ve been a member of SMI for several years (no needs yet) and have been very happy, though sometimes the articles in the newsletter are not as “non-denominational” as they think they are, and I roll my eyes. But $84/mo to be in the Catholic part of things? No way! I can’t figure out how they could need all that for office expenses on top of the annual monthly share that goes to headquarters already.
 
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