HealthShare Guide currently features 10 HealthShares with a variety of different membership options. Some HealthShares offer only one membership type, while others have several to choose from. Each HealthShare and membership type is suitable for different individuals, but each HealthShare may have one membership that stands out from the rest of their offerings. By exploring the top ten best HealthShare membership plans, HealthShare Guide hopes to help prospective members find a good membership match.
United Refuah HealthShare
United Refuah HealthShare offers one membership type, with prices varying based on the number of people in the membership. Prices are not affected by the primary member’s age group. A single person can join for $199/month; a couple for $349/month and a family (up to six members) for $499/month. United Refuah works for the Jewish community, as its sharing guidelines are guided by Jewish beliefs. They have simple pricing, and each member has one shareable wellness visit, including standard lab work, per membership year.
Zion HealthShare
Zion HealthShare has one basic membership type, with price variations based on member age and how many people are included in the membership. Zion HealthShare also allows members to choose between three Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA) options. Members must pay their IUA before a bill can be shared. However, instead of an annual IUA, members pay the IUA amount every time they have a medical incident that requires sharing (but members will not pay more than three IUAs in a 12-month period). Because of the per-incident IUA, the preferred option for many is Zion HealthShare’s $1,000 IUA. In the worst-case scenario, a member would only pay $3,000 for eligible costs in a year. Also, the membership can include telemedicine, counseling services, and an annual wellness visit.
OneShare Health
OneShare Health caters to Christians, and they offer two basic membership programs, Catastrophic and Classic. Of these two, Classic is the better choice—it offers wellness visits as well as visits to an urgent care facility. The Classic membership includes three membership levels within that tier: Basic, Enhanced, and Crown. In light of the membership details and available features, the best value is in OneShare’s Classic Crown membership. It includes preventive services, a wellness visit, five visits to a primary care provider in a program year, $75 visits to specialists, and two visits to an urgent care facility per program year. All memberships include telemedicine, but the inclusion of preventive care is important enough to push the Classic Crown membership to the top.
Samaritan Ministries
Samaritan Ministries has some of the more stringent membership guidelines of the major HealthShares, but has a longstanding reputation in the industry, sharing eligible expenses for over 25 years. Samaritan offers two membership types, Basic and Classic. The preferred plan for many is Samaritan Classic because it has a very low Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA) at $400, and a limit per need of $250,000 (compared to Basic’s $1,500 IUA and $236,500 limit). Neither plan offers preventive care, but for devout Christians who want help with large medical bills, Classic could be the way to go.
Altrua HealthShare
The Christian ministry Altrua HealthShare has four membership levels: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Diamond. Monthly costs and shareable services vary widely between Altrua HealthShare’s gem memberships which makes it difficult to assess the best value. Ultimately, the Emerald plan will likely hold the most value for members. Although it’s about $50 cheaper than the Diamond plan, its $318 monthly price point is expensive for a HealthShare. However, this does include six office visits per member which can be pooled with other members in the household. It also includes maternity sharing, adoption sharing, and lab services, and has no annual sharing limits (lifetime max is $1,000,000). Considering the higher cost and the added inclusions, the Emerald plan offers the best balance between affordability and value.
Christian Healthcare Ministries
Founded in 1981, CHM is the longest-operating Christian HealthShare. They have three membership tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold, each with the option to add a supplemental program called Brother’s Keeper to raise sharing limits per need. The most extensive sharing support is offered by the Gold membership, likely making it the best choice. This plan starts at $235 per unit, per month (so a couple would pay $470/month). While expensive for a HealthShare, the Gold membership shares 100% of any medical incident totaling $1,000 or more (as long as all other Guidelines are met). This includes urgent care, lab work and radiology, and physical therapy/home healthcare, among other things. Adding Brother’s Keeper removes the $125,000 sharing cap per illness, meaning that any eligible cost over $125,000 may be shared to an unlimited amount.
Solidarity HealthShare
Solidarity HealthShare is currently the only HealthShare that caters to Catholics. The only plan available for new members, Solidarity ONE, is their “most comprehensive program and allows the Member to select the level of sharing participation to determine the Monthly Contribution Amount, the Annual Unshared Amount, and Senior Discount.” Incident sharing limits cap at $1,000,000 per incident per year. Unfortunately, accessing plan costs requires entering personal information, which may dissuade many from fully exploring Solidarity’s plans. One unique feature is that some prescriptions may be fully shareable with Solidarity ONE, even those taken for pre-existing conditions and maintenance.
Medi-Share
Medi-Share is another well-established Christian HCSM. Medi-Share only has one plan option and requires that prospective members submit personal information to get a pricing calculator. However, their membership includes an annual physical with limited labs, unlimited telemedicine and virtual mental health, and no lifetime or annual sharing limits. Uniquely, there is one annual household portion per family. This means that in a program year, the entire family only pays one member responsibility amount– the cost is not per person or per incident. That’s one of the most generous member cost policies in the industry.
Liberty HealthShare
Liberty HealthShare has had some challenges this last year, but they are hoping to make improvements with all-new leadership. Liberty, the final Christian ministry in this list, currently offers three standard membership tiers: Liberty Unite, Liberty Connect, and Liberty Essential. Of these three, Liberty Connect offers the best value, particularly for individuals. The monthly cost for a single person ranges from $209 (under 35 years old) to $279 (over 50). This plan includes a $1,000 annual unshareable amount (for an individual), and up to $1,000,000 in eligible bills per incident. Members then pay a 15% co-share. Liberty Unite receives honorable mention because eligible bills are 100% shareable, but the price increase may not be worth it for most people. Additionally, Liberty HealthShare offers the Liberty Rise plan for individuals 18-29 years old, and the Liberty Assist plan for individuals over 65 (and on Medicare).
Sedera
The other non-religious HealthShare on our list, Sedera, offers five different IUA options for members to choose from. Members pay a maximum of three IUAs per membership year (the fourth and beyond are 100% shared), starting as low as $500 and with no annual or lifetime maximum shareable amount. The different IUA choices are $500, $1,000, $1,500, $2,500, or $5,000. As expected, Sedera’s lower IUA cost comes with a higher monthly amount. Specific pricing for teams and individuals is available on Sedera’s website. Sedera members are responsible for their preventive care expenses regardless of the IUA. However, certain preventive services are shareable, such as annual flu shots, mammograms (40+), colonoscopies (45+), and childhood immunizations. For most people, the $1,000 or $1,500 options will probably work well, depending on budget and overall health. People who rarely need doctors may prefer to pay lower monthly costs in favor of a slightly higher IUA when something happens; those who require more care may prefer to pay more monthly for lower costs when they have an incident.
Conclusion
HealthShares present a diverse range of options to manage healthcare costs, keeping in mind the widely varying needs and priorities. This list should serve as a resource to explore these alternatives, helping readers identify a plan that aligns with their specific needs.
