Samaritan Ministries, Int’l is a health care sharing ministry. It is an organization set up with the biblical model of “bearing one another’s burdens” as their purpose. Members directly share and help one another deal with unexpected medical expenses due to illness or accident. Our family has been a member of Samaritan Ministries for over 11 years now. We joined when we had only 2 children.
Each month, I get a newsletter in the mail and in that mailing is a shareslip which tells me the specific need of another member and their address. I’m asked to pray for them, send them a note of encouragement and send them my monthly share which at this time for a family is $405.00. The ministry has a fancy computer program (and a whole bunch of smart guys who write and run it) which helps them allocate or divide up all the needs (medical bills) and available shares each month.
In return, whenever I have a qualifying need I can send in the required paperwork to Samaritan Ministries and my need will be shared amongst the members. This process usually takes about 2 months from the time that I submit all the paperwork.
When I go to a doctor’s office or medical visit of any kind I tell them that I am self-pay. They bill me directly and are typically quite willing to set up a payment plan until the need is shared by Samaritan members and all the funds get to me directly. As soon as I receive the shares (and lovely cards, notes and words of encouragement) from the other members, I pay off my remaining medical bills.
That’s it in a nutshell. It’s a pretty amazing thing. Thousands of other Christian families and individuals who truly “have my back” in case of medical emergencies. I love being a member and would never go back to insurance!
To find out more about Samaritan Ministries you can visit their website here.
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