Research Outline

Faith-Based US HealthShare Programs

Goals

To find 2 faith-based health share programs in the United States that are either national OR at least cover the States of GA and OH, preferably Jewish ones. The goal of the research is to provide the enrollment requirements, cost for a family of four, out-of-pocket costs, services, three positive reviews, three negative reviews, and exceptions (if any) for each of the programs.

Early Findings

During our preliminary research, we were only able to identify one Jewish health share program in the United States, or the states requested and one additional faith-based program. We then placed these findings into the spreadsheet. Below is an overview of our early findings.

United Refuah

  • United Refuah is a Jewish healthshare program that requires its members to agree to follow Jewish beliefs, refrain from tobacco use, follow the Jewish scripture, avoid the use of illegal and prescribed drugs, engage in regular exercise and eat healthy.
  • Monthly contributions for families of 3-6 members cost $519 when using a bank debit card and $539 when using a credit card.
  • Whether members are paying with their bank debit card or credit card, there is an additional $50 charge for each member of the family.
  • Members are responsible for their pre-share costs and 20% copay. For a family, the pre-share amount is $1500 with a maximum 20% co share of $8,000.

Samaritan Ministries

  • Samaritan Ministries is a faith-based healthshare program in the U.S.
  • In order to qualify, members must be a professing Christian, attend church regularly, agree to bear other members' burdens, avoid the abuse of legal drugs or use of illegal drugs, limit alcohol consumption, avoid premarital sex, send in the assigned share on time, avoid suing other Christians, sign and send in the Membership Continuation Form annually, and have someone to hold them accountable.
  • After running a quote into the website for a family of 3+, the Samaritan Classic option costs roughly $530.00 monthly and the price of a Basic Samaritan plan is roughly $250.00 monthly.
  • This amount varies based on the age of the adult members.
  • For each plan, there is an initial unshareable amount that the member is responsible for. For the Samaritan Basic option, the amount is $1500 and for the Classic option, the amount is $300.
  • There is also a non-refundable startup fee of $200.
  • "Medical needs are submitted on a per person per incident basis for illnesses or injuries resulting in visits to licensed medical professionals, emergency rooms, or hospitals (inpatient and outpatient). "
  • There is a maternity limit for both plan types. For the Samaritan Classic plan, the limit is $250,000 and $5,000 for the basic option. There is also limit per need for each option. For the Classic plan, the limit is $250,000 and $236,500 for the basic plan.
  • We have also provided 3 positive and 3 negative reviews in the spreadsheet.