Advisory Board January 8, 2020
More than one million Americans have turned to faith-based health sharing ministries, which help their members pay for medical expenses, in place of traditional health insurance. But as one ministry recently acknowledged, “[T]here is no coverage, no guarantee of payment”—leaving some patients facing potential financial ruin, Reed Abelson reports for the New York Times.
Background
Health care sharing ministries operate cost-sharing funds that help members pay for medical expenses. Members generally must “adhere to a Christian lifestyle,” Abelson reports, and pay a fixed monthly fee that either is pooled into a general account or goes directly toward another individual’s medical bill. Members then can submit medical bills to the fund to share the cost among the group.