From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Personal Review of Samaritan Ministries

In August of last year, I left health insurance behind and joined the ranks of the uninsured.  Well, sort of, but I will get to that in a minute.

Yes, I decided to go without COVERAGE.  I left the holy mount of Jerusalem (healthcare benefits) and went down to the lowly town of Jericho (a self-paying uninsured).  In the meantime, the government and the media have determined that I have a “right” to healthcare benefits, but I have chosen not to exercise that “right” either.

What’s wrong with me? To hear some people talk (and I have heard quite a few comments), you would have thought that I started drowning cats or poisoning puppies. How can you do such a thing?  While there were a few concerned and positive comments, most people expressed shock that anyone could go without COVERAGE.  But my feelings about this matter were well-expressed in the insurance section of my book:

“For example, my grandfather NEVER had health insurance until he was enrolled in Medicare.  Today, we are told that health insurance is a right and should be universally provided.  How did we go from a country of people independent enough to handle all of their medical bills to one where we aren’t courageous enough to handle any of them…or at least to have a choice in the matter?”

Well, here I am a year later and the sky has not fallen.

Of course, the actual bogeyman here is not whether you will or will not get medical care, but rather how much it costs.  The culprits behind the meteoric rise in health care costs are the same ones who tell us we need COVERAGE: Insurance companies and government.  Hmmmmm?

If I were a lone wolf, I would probably accept the potential risk of going broke through healthcare costs and move on with my life.  But I am married with children and do believe it is prudent to have a back-up plan or two. Of course traditionally the back-up plans were already in place: Your extended family, your Church and your community.  Those are either gone or as destitute as we are.  Still, it would be a good long-range goal to re-build that world and that is where the Christian health share ministries are working.

When I left the health insurance world, I joined a group called Samaritan Ministries, one of several medical cost sharing organizations.  The balance of this blog will be a brief Pros and Cons summation of my experience with them.  But first, let’s hear from Samaritan what exactly it is:  “Health care sharing is an arrangement whereby Christians share, to assist one another with medical expenses through voluntary giving.”  Yes, you heard it right, the Church and the larger Church community voluntarily give to others to help cover their healthcare costs.  Remarkable!

How does it work? Well, you enroll and then begin receiving a monthly newsletter and “share request”.  On the “share request” is the name of a person in need to whom you are directed to send your monthly share amount.  This amount varies based on whether you enroll as a family, couple or individual.  The needs and the shares are all calculated by a central office so all you have to do is send your money to the person named.  They even have a slogan that accompanies each mailer: 1. Send a Note 2. Pay Your Share 3. Always Stay Alert in Prayer.  In other words, along with the money we send to our fellow member, we also send notes or cards of encouragement and keep them in our daily prayers.  My family prays for a Samaritan member every day.

So does it work?  What’s the good, the bad and ugly?  And have you ever gotten money in return?  Short answers, yes, mostly good and not yet.  Here are the pros and cons:

PROS

• Very well run.  Samaritan is processing from 7-10 million dollars of needs a month and does so with a small, dedicated staff and low administrative expense.
• Moral base.  I don’t know how to express this other than to say that these people take their faith seriously…as we all should.  Still, it is nice to encounter faith-based action that is neither hokey nor hypocritical.
• Newsletter.  I read a lot and sadly much that is published these days is not worth the paper (or e-paper) it is written on.  Not so the Samaritan newsletter.  I have found incredible commentaries on economics, government, healthcare (alternative and traditional), religion and more. This is a protestant, non-sectarian outfit, but it is even appreciated by this traditionalist Catholic!
• Freedom alternative.  People have been crying for years about the growth of government, regulations, costs, taxes, healthcare, you name it.  But rather than “curse the darkness,” Samaritan comes in and “lights a candle.”
• Relatively inexpensive.  Remember, you really aren’t buying anything here like insurance, but comparing costs is illustrative.  The highest share amount at Samaritan (for a family) is $405 per month.  That’s what I pay.  When I had a full-fledged HMO for my family, the costs were approaching $1,000 per month.  I also had a “major medical-high deductible” plan at one time which costs around the same amount monthly ($400+), but never covered anything because of all the deductible rules.  After the first $300 of costs with Samaritan, the rest is shared.

CONS

• The costs have begun to creep up with Samaritan as well.  The membership does get to comment and then vote on any increases, but I think Samaritan could do a better job of costs containment both at the member and provider level.  The good news is that Samaritan did receive my recommendations and took them under advisement.  What insurance company is going to do that?
• Your health care providers don’t know what to do with you.  Health cost-sharing is not a commonly understood process and some doctors balk at it.  It would be nice if Samaritan put out a flyer detailing the basic mechanics and telling doctors’ offices how to handle our “claims”.
• Forms.  Samaritan requires certain forms to be completed annually (from your pastor or priest) and some to be done by the doctor and your minister at each medical incident.  While this might seem like overkill to some people, it doesn’t even come close to the paperwork and telephone work you would have to do with an errant insurance claim.
• Faith-based.  This is not really a con, but if you are not a Christian, Samaritan would not be for you.

By the way, I recently had some chest pain that had to be evaluated by my doctor.  Thus, I am in the process of making my first “share request” and Samaritan has been there every step of the way through the process.

In sum, Samaritan has given my family great peace of mind while being an edifying force in my own faith.  It is amazing what people can do with God’s grace and Samaritan is an excellent example of those blessings.  I would heartily recommend giving them a try.