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There are several Christian Medical Sharing Plans in operation in the US. Two Democrat House Reps ( Montana and Virginia) and one Republican ( Iowa) fought with Congress to carve out an exemption / waiver from the ACA building on the same argument the Amish made to exempt themselves from Social Security and the ACA.
These Sharing Plans are not insurance although they operate in a similar way. Generally speaking, Sharing Plans may be a better option than insurance for some of the people, some of the time.
All require a Christian testimony ( may require a sign off from church) and promise to live in accordance with biblical principles including abstaining from alcohol, smoking, recreational substances, sex outside marriage. Weight, BMI waist size and cholesterol matters with most plans. Some plans outright exclude those who are overweight/ obese while others require a higher monthly " gift" ( premium).
Preexisting conditions are generally excluded. Cancer screening, routine doctor visits, wellness care, substance abuse treatment/ rehab and mental health care are excluded.
These plans negotiate with in network healthcare providers, no different than insurance companies and networks may be very narrow in some areas.
Maximum annual payouts are a variable and may be capped as low as $125,000 per year with the lowest cost plans in some areas.
Not all plans are legal in all states.
Medi- Share is the largest and operates like a credit union. Monthly " gifts" are made and used to help pay qualifying expenses of members as determined by a peer review committee. Samaritan requires monthly " gifts" to be paid directly to other members. If monthly " gifts" are not adequate to cover expenses, all monthly disbursements are reduced across the board.
Unlike healthcare insurance, these plans skim the cream off the top of the population in terms of healthcare risks. By excluding preexisting conditions, unhealthy behaviors and expecting members to take personal responsibility for their health results in a healthy pool of people less likely to be diagnosed with otherwise preventable diseases.
Healthcare costs and thus premiums would substantially decline if/ when the general population took personal responsibility for themselves.
Smokers have been required to pay higher premiums in the individual plan market for at least 15 years. Why not do the same for those who are overweight/ obese.
You know a lot about health care plans for a real estate marketer.
Medi Share rewards good health behaviors whereas ObamaIdon'tCare does not and also encourages you to lower your wage to qualify for subsidized policy paid for by others blood, sweat, and tears. If I can figure out how to keep my taxable income low enough, I'll opt for the Unaffordable health Care Plan in future years. For now, I will give Medi Share a try to see how they perform.
You know a lot about health care plans for a real estate marketer.
Medi Share rewards good health behaviors whereas ObamaIdon'tCare does not and also encourages you to lower your wage to qualify for subsidized policy paid for by others blood, sweat, and tears. If I can figure out how to keep my taxable income low enough, I'll opt for the Unaffordable health Care Plan in future years. For now, I will give Medi Share a try to see how they perform.
I've never met anyone who would work toward lowering their wage for that reason, or for the sake of paying less taxes. In fact, most people, in particular employees, have no such option as compared to maybe a self-employed person, but even then I think everyone generally strives to make as much money as they possibly can, per hour, per year, in total, regardless of tax code or the ACA.
Tax evasion, on the other hand, well that too is another matter...
As a healthy mid to late 20s single male that makes more than the amount to qualify for Obamacare subsidies, I find it beyond annoying that Obamacare wants to astronomically increase my rates to subsidize the care of older, sicker Americans; many (though not all) who are sick due to lifestyle choices of their own choosing, such as a lifetime of poor diets, little exercise, etc.
The "success" of Obamacare is tied to how many young professional millennials sign up for the program and the tax penalties the government can successfully take from us if we don't.
I have not participated in Obamacare, and made the most exemptions on my taxes that I could so that the penalty that comes out of any tax refund I would have otherwise received would be minimal, if I get a refund at all. If the IRS can't get the full tax penalty from a refund I would have otherwise received, they presently have no way of getting it from me.
I still qualify for catastrophic short term plans off the exchange for about $50 a month, 4 times less than what Obamacare wanted. 20% coinsurance/$5,000 deductible, max $2 million.
I find it interesting that the whole "the world doesn't owe you anything!" and "entitlement!" attacks go away when it is the older generation individuals on the left wing that feel entitled to my money for their healthcare and the ponzi scheme that is social security payments.
If it makes more financial sense for you to stay with private med insurance, then why bother asking the question in the first place? You still have the right to insure yourself however you choose, and that's not gonna change.
But things could be different for you if your life and career take unexpected turns for the worse. A goodf friend of mine was completely against Obamacare until she developed a chronic thyroid condition that will be manageable, but never cured unless there's some big medical breakthrough in the future.
She suddenly found herself in our state's gap; Idaho is half-covered by Obamacare, but not covered by the half of the ACA to provides federal funding for MedicAid patients. She is too young to automatically qualify for MedicAid, and in middle age, too old to realistically find a job that's so much higher paying than the one she has now as to cover the med increases.
Then, out of the blue, her private insurer cancelled her policy. That's allowed here, and her insurer probably did some actuarials on how much she would cost them, so they arbitrarily dropped her. Now, she has no med insurance at all, and if she finds another insurer, her costs will be much higher than Obamacare.
She just joined the other 78,000 Idahoans who are just a little too poor to afford private insurance, and a bit too well off to qualify for MedicAid's indigent care. Most of those 78,000 folks here are around your age.
I hope this never happens to you. But know that the future is always uncertain. My friend is a very conservative lifelong Republican and has always despised Obamacare until fate hit her hard a few months ago. She has a much different attitude now that she's on the other side of it and stuck there for the rest of her life.
Or until Idaho snaps out of it and finally takes up the rest of the Obamacare deal. That may be years away, but it's bound to happen eventually. Medical costs don't get cheaper over time, that's for sure.
If it makes more financial sense for you to stay with private med insurance, then why bother asking the question in the first place? You still have the right to insure yourself however you choose, and that's not gonna change.
But things could be different for you if your life and career take unexpected turns for the worse. A goodf friend of mine was completely against Obamacare until she developed a chronic thyroid condition that will be manageable, but never cured unless there's some big medical breakthrough in the future.
She suddenly found herself in our state's gap; Idaho is half-covered by Obamacare, but not covered by the half of the ACA to provides federal funding for MedicAid patients. She is too young to automatically qualify for MedicAid, and in middle age, too old to realistically find a job that's so much higher paying than the one she has now as to cover the med increases.
Then, out of the blue, her private insurer cancelled her policy. That's allowed here, and her insurer probably did some actuarials on how much she would cost them, so they arbitrarily dropped her. Now, she has no med insurance at all, and if she finds another insurer, her costs will be much higher than Obamacare.
She just joined the other 78,000 Idahoans who are just a little too poor to afford private insurance, and a bit too well off to qualify for MedicAid's indigent care. Most of those 78,000 folks here are around your age.
I hope this never happens to you. But know that the future is always uncertain. My friend is a very conservative lifelong Republican and has always despised Obamacare until fate hit her hard a few months ago. She has a much different attitude now that she's on the other side of it and stuck there for the rest of her life.
Or until Idaho snaps out of it and finally takes up the rest of the Obamacare deal. That may be years away, but it's bound to happen eventually. Medical costs don't get cheaper over time, that's for sure.
I'm confused and/or I wish I could better understand...
The ACA is a law, not a medical plan. All Americans are subject to the ACA, and under Obamacare, everyone should be able to access medical care coverage, though of course the plans, offerings, costs can vary from state to state depending on a variety of factors that I also don't understand all that well.
What do you mean when you write your friend's "costs will be much higher than Obamacare?"
[quote=Mighty_Pelican;43619507]As a healthy mid to late 20s single male that makes more than the amount to qualify for Obamacare subsidies, I find it beyond annoying that Obamacare wants to astronomically increase my rates to subsidize the care of older, sicker Americans; many (though not all) who are sick due to lifestyle choices of their own choosing, such as a lifetime of poor diets, little exercise, etc.
The "success" of Obamacare is tied to how many young professional millennials sign up for the program and the tax penalties the government can successfully take from us if we don't.
I have not participated in Obamacare, and made the most exemptions on my taxes that I could so that the penalty that comes out of any tax refund I would have otherwise received would be minimal, if I get a refund at all. If the IRS can't get the full tax penalty from a refund I would have otherwise received, they presently have no way of getting it from me.
I still qualify for catastrophic short term plans off the exchange for about $50 a month, 4 times less than what Obamacare wanted. 20% coinsurance/$5,000 deductible, max $2 million.
I find it interesting that the whole "the world doesn't owe you anything!" and "entitlement!" attacks go away when it is the older generation individuals on the left wing that feel entitled to my money for their healthcare and the ponzi scheme that is social security payments.[/
Well I'm one of the old folks that has to pay outrageous car insurance payment to help cover the cost of all the young people who have a license but have not yet acquired the skills needed to avoid traffic crashes.
I have to pay for your lousy driving so you have to help pay for my health insurance.
I've never met anyone who would work toward lowering their wage for that reason, or for the sake of paying less taxes. In fact, most people, in particular employees, have no such option as compared to maybe a self-employed person, but even then I think everyone generally strives to make as much money as they possibly can, per hour, per year, in total, regardless of tax code or the ACA.
Tax evasion, on the other hand, well that too is another matter...
You've never me someone that tries to keep their taxable income low? I haven't met anyone that doesn't try to keep their taxable income as low as possible....I guess we are in different worlds.
As a healthy mid to late 20s single male that makes more than the amount to qualify for Obamacare subsidies, I find it beyond annoying that Obamacare wants to astronomically increase my rates to subsidize the care of older, sicker Americans; many (though not all) who are sick due to lifestyle choices of their own choosing, such as a lifetime of poor diets, little exercise, etc.
Those older people who subsidized you so that you could reach your mid 20's safe, well and educated, although we older people failed miserably at teaching you civic responsibility...
Anyway, as a participate of Obamacare - allowing use to keep our mid-twenty year old on our policy, keeping myself and my wife being dropped due to preexisting conditions, and prohibitions against life-time limits, not to mention the fact that the ACA has contributed to limit the rise in the cost of health insurance in general, or the fact that this health that you are so proud of can come to a crashing halt an anytime requiring this old tax payer to subsidize your uncovered behind.
I was a healthy 23 year old when I was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. No family history.
Do you have $500,000 sitting in the bank? That's how much it cost for me to see my 25th birthday with chemo, meds, and appointments alone. It would have been more expensive had I needed surgery or radiation.
If the politicians had done their jobs -and paid due diligence to make sure this was the best plan for the people- weeded out stuff that would hurt instead of help and put their a** politics aside- it would be better- they cannibalized it in the name of obstruction-- as usual
I was a healthy 23 year old when I was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. No family history.
Do you have $500,000 sitting in the bank? That's how much it cost for me to see my 25th birthday with chemo, meds, and appointments alone. It would have been more expensive had I needed surgery or radiation.
Great point, you never know when you're going to be blindsided by fate and bad luck....glad you have recovered. But we need a health care system much better than what we have with the Unaffordable Care Act.
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