Health Care

[Glen06]

I'm a little confused about what I am supposed to be doing with healthcare. I guess today is some kind of a deadline to sign up? I am wanting to go with a Christian program like Medishare. Do I just apply to such a program, or do I need to go through the government Obamacare website, or what?

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

now i know you really mean 'the affordable healthcare website'; as even Obama's (and Bush's) sins were paid for by Jesus

quiet your mind, focus on God, and be thankful in advance for His leading as you 'listen' for it - which can be recognized by peace

Col 3:15 KJV
(15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

 

[Odetta]

Open enrollment is from Nov 15, 2014 to Feb 15, 2015 on obamacare stuff, but i think existing coverage ends Dec. 31, 2014. I just googled that for you. I don't really know much about it, because we are covered through DH's employer, but I wanted to give you more practical advice.

Someone else may be able to help you more. Also you may want to mention the state you live in, because I think states have different plans.

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

it looks like the deadline to sign up for insurance starting Jan 1st on the healtcare.gov website is in three hours, but that may just be for folks who don't have any healthcare coverage now:

https://www.healthcare.gov/subscribe/?utm_medium=paid_search&gclid=CJulvYK1ycICFQ_l7AodEAgAlQ

from what little research i've done in the past few minutes (until i stumbled on that website), medi-share is not technically healthcare insurance; it is healthcare cost sharing that is evidently an approved alternative to healthcare insurance from the stand point of the affordable care act - so you probably won't be able to sign up for it on that website - but you won't know unless you try.

if the deadline is in three hours, you don't have much time to research your options - so you may want to refer back to my original post

 

[Inkachu]

Medi-share is not cheap, and it doesn't work like traditional insurance plans (ie, you go to the doctor, present your card, insurance pays the bill or most of it on the spot, you go your way). With Medi-share, every doctor's visit/procedure/test/etc, has to go through an approval process before it gets paid by the community. This means that there will be times when you have to pay up front, which means costly things like certain vaccines, tests, x-rays, etc, will be way out of your reach financially. You may have to work with that particular doctor or facility to see if they will allow you just pay a portion of the bill or something like that. Programs like Medi-share sound great for people who have thousands of dollars on hand to spend at the doctor's office at any given time; it doesn't sound practical at all (IMO) for the rest of us.

 

[parsley]

From what I have heard, regular health insurance is cheaper than the government option, for what you get.

If you are 26-29, you can still build off your parents' account, I think, while paying your amount.

There are many community organizations that offer to be the home-base provider -- not paying, but hosting individuals who don't get insurance through employers. (Like arts councils, small business associations.) Also you can contact BC/BS and they will direct you toward a plan that is set up for uninsured... I have used this, and sometimes find my coverage is better than people with employer-based plans.

Glad you asked! Life is full of all these things to do, and there's a lot of wading through clutter to find the instructions.

 

[Inkachu]

I agree with Parsley as well. The "affordable" care act is a laugh...it's anything BUT affordable for most people.

Do you work, Glen? Does your job offer insurance options?

 

[Boidae]

Medi-share is not cheap, and it doesn't work like traditional insurance plans (ie, you go to the doctor, present your card, insurance pays the bill or most of it on the spot, you go your way). With Medi-share, every doctor's visit/procedure/test/etc, has to go through an approval process before it gets paid by the community. This means that there will be times when you have to pay up front, which means costly things like certain vaccines, tests, x-rays, etc, will be way out of your reach financially. You may have to work with that particular doctor or facility to see if they will allow you just pay a portion of the bill or something like that. Programs like Medi-share sound great for people who have thousands of dollars on hand to spend at the doctor's office at any given time; it doesn't sound practical at all (IMO) for the rest of us.

This is what I found out as well. They also have really strict guidelines as far as if you go over a certain weight and do not lose it, they can/will drop you from the plan.

I was looking at this a couple years ago as an option, but decided against it. Since I do not work, I do not have health insurance. Since I live in Florida, a state that didn't take money to help expand Medicaid, I have share-of-cost Medicaid. Since my wife's disability is too high, I do not qualify for full Medicaid. Share-of-cost Medicaid is a Medicaid that you have to meet a monthly number in order for them to start covering your medical needs. Mine is over $500 a month. Needless to say, I rarely go over that and have only done so once.

Thankfully, I have our county's health plan and it pays for my PcP visits and medications. I can also go to certain specialists.

While the county health plan and Medicaid share-of-cost do not qualify for Obamacare, I will have to seek an exemption based on income. I do not qualify for Obamacare either as we do not make enough money in order to qualify for a subsidy.

 

[Inkachu]

This is what I found out as well. They also have really strict guidelines as far as if you go over a certain weight and do not lose it, they can/will drop you from the plan.

Oh yeah, this, too! You have to be "godly" in your lifestyle, including not smoking, not drinking, no weight-related issues, etc. It's really depressing, IMHO... and doesn't feel "Christian" at all in some ways. It's like "If you're thin and wealthy, you're welcome to join! Praise God!" Blech.

 

[JennAtCCM]

The deadline to use the healthcare marketplace to purchase insurance for an effective date of 1/1/15 has passed; however, you can join Medi-Share at any time. If you would like to be a Medi-Share member as of January 1, 2015, however, you need to apply using the online application by December 20th. Medi-Share is not insurance and you would not find any information about this program on the government website.

You can learn more about how Christians share each other’s medical bills and meet the requirements of the law at MyChristianCare.org/medi-share , or call and speak with a representative at 800-772-5623, but be patient as the call volume is high at this time due the approaching New Year and the interest in Medi-Share.

To address some of the questions and concerns mentioned in the above posts; we realize Medi-Share is not for everyone and each adult member must attest to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and profess the Statement of Faith to join. Doctor visits do have a $35.00 co pay, which is required at the time of service. The average family cost is about $300 a month. Medi-Share offers flexible options for everyone, just choose the Annual Household Portion that provides the best fit for your family and your budget. Pricing Tool mychristiancare.org/medi-share-pricing-tool.aspx We do not drop people due to their weight, but we do offer a health incentive if certain criteria is met. To read more please refer to our Member Voted Guidelines. mychristiancare.org/guidelines.aspx

 

[Inkachu]

Wow... drive-by sales pitch.

 

[Boidae]

The deadline to use the healthcare marketplace to purchase insurance for an effective date of 1/1/15 has passed; however, you can join Medi-Share at any time. If you would like to be a Medi-Share member as of January 1, 2015, however, you need to apply using the online application by December 20th. Medi-Share is not insurance and you would not find any information about this program on the government website.

You can learn more about how Christians share each other’s medical bills and meet the requirements of the law at MyChristianCare.org/medi-share , or call and speak with a representative at 800-772-5623, but be patient as the call volume is high at this time due the approaching New Year and the interest in Medi-Share.

To address some of the questions and concerns mentioned in the above posts; we realize Medi-Share is not for everyone and each adult member must attest to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and profess the Statement of Faith to join. Doctor visits do have a $35.00 co pay, which is required at the time of service. The average family cost is about $300 a month. Medi-Share offers flexible options for everyone, just choose the Annual Household Portion that provides the best fit for your family and your budget. Pricing Tool mychristiancare.org/medi-share-pricing-tool.aspx We do not drop people due to their weight, but we do offer a health incentive if certain criteria is met. To read more please refer to our Member Voted Guidelines. mychristiancare.org/guidelines.aspx

Hmm... Still days that it is necessary to stick to their plan and achieve their required goals to continue the plan. Seems to me that you can be dropped because of weight.

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

Wow... drive-by sales pitch.

could be a Christian that happens to work for medi-share

to the OP: ultimately, if you don't see God as your Healer, no insurance plan will fit your need. God sent His word to heal us, modern medicine is just a help to give us time to overcome our doubts about His healing word

 

[Quasicentennial]

Personally, financial support for medical reasons is wonderful, but if Jesus is our healer of all diseases, I definitely see this biblical statement as fact and there are definitely many Christ-believers, besides myself, who do frequent bible study, such as Jehovah's Witness, or Mormon, who fearlessly stand tall and avoid medical aid by mankind, even though that I am in my early 50s:.
Bible study on a weekly basis is necessary to faith-focus your mind on Jehovah our God the Father, our universe-maker, and the Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ who lives spiritually in our faith-abiding hearts:.
Chaos is the opposite of order, and Jesus can supernaturally put in order/control every cell in your body so that each one acts like a self-government and bio-community, while you are still young:.
Of course, old age is Jehovah's curse and the only way to break it is to wait patiently for Christ's Second Coming future victory return which is always on our minds, only because we are at the end times and Jesus could reveal his physical appearance without any television advertising campaign that would allow us time to fully prepare ourselves ready for his arrival.;'*';.

 

[Inkachu]

could be a Christian that happens to work for medi-share

Christian or not, it's a bit sleazy IMO to troll forums searching for the term "medi-share" and then create a profile, make one post pitching your product, and then disappear. Anywho.

 

[JennAtCCM]

I apologize if it was not clear that I am an employee of Medi-Share Christian Care Ministry. This post was brought to our attention and we do want to make sure that anyone with questions has accurate information about how Medi-Share works so they can make an informed decision about their healthcare.

 

[ExcellentWife]

Sorry I accidentally posted twice.

 

[ExcellentWife]

Hi,
I know this is an old thread, but my husband, myself and our eight kids are looking into Samaritan or Christian Medicare. We believe Jesus is our Messiah and died for our sins. We try to live a Godly lifestyle and take care of ourselves. However, we don't go to church. We homechurch. It says for our enrollment we need to sign our statement of faith and have somebody in church leadership sign our statement as well. What do we do in this situation?