Should I Get a Health-Sharing Plan?

The Positive:

There are several great aspects of sharing plans. Not only are you connected to a group of individuals who are praying for and with you, but there are some economic benefits to sharing plans. They offer discounts, and the premiums are generally very low.

The Negative:

That said, there are a few potential downsides of health-sharing plans that you should know about when making your decision.

First, a sharing program is not an insurance product, so there are no guarantees. This is also true if you have a Blue Cross Blue Shield or United plan. There is more money behind those plans, which can help in situations like a large catastrophic event in the area.

Second, health-sharing programs generally have comparatively fewer members, which can pose problems. A small group of members means there are limited resources to be shared amongst the group. While a Blue Cross plan, for example, has millions of members, a sharing plan will usually only have a few hundred to a thousand members. This could be an issue if you were to have a large claim that needed to be covered.

Third, you can not put money into a Health Savings Account.  I won’t go into all the details here since I have a separate blog post dedicated to that subject.  Just know that a Health Sharing Plan is not considered Health Insurance.  That means you would not meet the requirements the IRS has established to allow that tax advantage.

What are some restrictions of health sharing plans?

Many Faith-Based Health sharing plans also usually restrict coverage for “sin”-related issues. 

• If you drink alcohol or use tobacco, you may be unable to get coverage.
• If there was a scenario where one of your children became pregnant out-of-wedlock, things could get complicated.
  • Some plans do assist in arranging for adoption or maternity services. However, many do not cover maternity expenses for a child conceived out of wedlock.
• While these may not be a concern for you, it is good to be aware of the restrictions sharing plans may come with.  Other Health Sharing Plans do not have those restrictions so make sure you read all of the fine print during the application process.

Limited Coverage for ongoing expenses.

• If you take preventative drugs, Health Sharing Plans often will not cover them after a certain point in time.
• Some companies will limit your preventative RX to 6 months and others will limit preventative prescription drugs to 12 months.
• Examples of these types of preventative drugs:
  • High Blood Pressure medicine like Altace, Vasotec, Losartan, and Lisinopril.
  • High Cholesterol Medicines like Lovastatin, Lipitor, and Crestor.