Samaritan does have some requirements in order to join. These requirements help keep costs down for everyone and they match their Christian belief system.
- No s-e-x outside of marriage (trying to keep the site G rated)
- No smoking
- No drinking to excess (alcohol in moderation is ok)
- Must agree with the statement of faith
- Must live a healthy Christian lifestyle
- No illegal drug use, no abuse of legal drugs
- Must be a Christian attending church regularly (3 out of 4) and must have your application signed by your minister.
- Check your mail 🙂
- Send your share
These requirements helps to ensure that members are living a Christian lifestyle, and that keeps medical costs lower for all participants.
Samaritan does not cancel your membership if you have a lot of medical needs, nor do they prevent you from joining if you have pre-existing conditions. Needs related to pre-existing conditions will generally not be shareable (they can be listed as a special prayer need though), unless you have gone 12 months without treatment or symptoms, or in the case of cancer you must be treatment/symptom free for 5 years. At that point it is no longer considered pre-existing. Some conditions are always considered pre-existing, such as type 1 diabetes.
Many members have pre-existing conditions which are well managed and aren’t likely to have a future problem. In the past insurance denied them coverage regardless. Today, thanks to Obamacare, these people could get insurance coverage now, but the monthly cost and co-insurance may still be out of reach (see my example for our family). For those people Samaritan is still the best option since the costs are so much lower and their condition is well managed (through diet or otherwise).
I have mixed feelings about Samaritan. We have been members for years, and are very thankful such groups exist. I have looked into similar groups, but Samaritan still has the best rates for us. However, I do not like their voting process when it comes to raising rates. Basically, voting is open to each family, but if a family does not vote, they are counted as having voted “yes” to each rate hike. If you want to vote against a rate hike, you actually have to VOTE! I don’t think Samratin makes this abundantly clear to its membership, AND there is little or no way for members to communicate with each other.
Samaritan claims that their board is elected by majority vote, but it doesn’t say what percentage of membership actually participates in the voting for board members. It seems unlikely that less than half of the membership would vote against rate increases (which is what always happens), and more than half of the membership votes for board members. I find that kind of voting behavior very unlikely. I would appreciate it if policy were determined only by those who take the time to vote.
I am currently researching health coverage options and have very much appreciated your site and information! But have several questions
1) if my hubs is on high blood pressure meds (I understand the RX is not sharable), and has a heart issue come up, or a heart attack or anything like that, is that considered pre-existing because of the high blood pressure?
2) I know Samaritans is not considered insurance in the traditional sense, however, does it qualify for the requirement from Medicare as having continuous insurance for the year and a half prior to bein elibigle for medicare?
Hi Wendi. My understanding is that blood pressure that is under control with medication does not count as a pre-existing issue. You will want to confirm that with Samaritan staff though, as I haven’t kept up on that particular issue. But that’s how it was not too long ago at least. 🙂
update: I found info on this, my theory is correct with details here (info from Samaritan’s site guidelines): High blood pressure will not be considered a “condition existing prior to membership” even if you have not gone 12 months symptom free, as long as you have not been treated at a hospital for high blood pressure in the past five years, and you are able to control the condition through medication or diet. Medication for treatment as a chronic condition will not be shared.
For question 2, I’m unfamiliar with anything medicare related as we aren’t quite to that stage yet. Since Samaritan counts as an ACA exempt option, I would suspect that it also counts as qualifying for any Medicare rules also, however Samaritan staff would very likely know for sure if that’s true. There are a lot of members on Medicare and Samaritan, and I’ve never heard or seen anyone say that they had issues related to that requirement. With all the changes happening at the government level though, I suppose anything is possible. You will find that Samaritan staff are extremely nice and helpful so I encourage you to reach out for more definitive answers. Good luck with your research! 🙂 God bless.
My husband and I are currently reviewing your Healthcare sharing plan. We are christians and have attended church (non-denominational) our entire lives. For the last few years we have been traveling globally full time and essentially participating in virtual church services every Sunday. We plan to settle down soon back in Tennessee and will resume worshiping in person once we find a home congregation. Is it possible to apply for enrollment now and defer the minister letter until after the first of the year (2026)?
Also, one of us manages blood pressure with medication. Is this considered a pre-existing condition?
Hi Judith. You ask great questions. And your global lifestyle sounds very exciting and interesting! 🙂 I am just a happy member though, I don’t actually work at Samaritan’s office so I don’t have good answers to your questions. Give them a call, they are very friendly and would be happy to answer your questions. I’ve always found them to be very helpful when I reach out. Their phone # is: 1-877-764-2426 or email info@samaritanministries.org.