Similar to a premium, your monthly share is the amount you send each month direct to another member to help cover their medical needs. The table below explains the different membership types. Members of the Classic Level Membership agree to share expenses incurred for medical treatments specified in the Membership Guidelines. The amount of the monthly share is based on household size (see chart below), regardless of your medical history, age (unless individual 29 or younger), or other factors.
Samaritan has two membership levels to choose from, Classic and Basic. Members of both plans can choose to add Save to Share (highly recommended!) for sharing of needs above $250,000.
CLASSIC MEMBERSHIP
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CLASSIC MEMBERSHIP
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| Age Groups | ||||||
| 18-29 | 30-39 | 40-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | ||
| 1 person | $192 | $303 | $303 | $348 | $348 | |
| 2 person | 591 | 591 | 591 | 681 | 681 | |
| 3-7 person | 665 | 665 | 665 | 681 | 681 | |
| 8+ person | 821 | 821 | 821 | 821 | 821 | |
| widow/divorced & children | 507 | 507 | 507 | 507 | 507 | |
| PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY (level where a need can start being shared) | $750/incident |
| MAX SHAREABLE AMOUNT (non-maternity, 2 person or higher required) | $250,000/incident (Save to Share means sharing above $250k) |
| MAX SHAREABLE AMOUNT FOR MATERNITY (2 person or higher required) | $247,000/incident (Save to Share means sharing above $250k) |
| Samaritan shares 100% of qualifying needs which go above $750 in total cost on the Classic Plan. Prorating rules apply. |
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——— OR ———-
BASIC MEMBERSHIP
Members of the Basic Level Membership agree to share expenses incurred for medical treatments specified in the Membership Guidelines. The amount of the monthly share is based on household size and age group determined by the age of the head of household (see chart below), regardless of your medical history or other factors. This plan level allows for smaller monthly share amounts, with greater personal responsibility portion and a 90/10 split sharing as detailed below (I think of it like a 90/10 co-insurance level).
| MEMBERSHIP SIZE |
AGE GROUPS (oldest member age) Monthly Share
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| 18-29 | 30-39 | 40-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | ||
| Individual | $115 | $139 | $163 | $190 | $193 | |
| 2 Person | $228 | $274 | $319 | $366 | $368 | |
| 3+ | $305 | $339 | $397 | $453 | $455 | |
| PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY/SHARING THRESHOLD (level where a need can start being shared) | $1500/incident |
| SHARING PERCENTAGE (amount shared by members) | 90% of the amount that is shareable |
| CO-SHARE (amount paid by member on his/her own need) | 10% (up to maximum co-share) |
| MAXIMUM CO-SHARE (MCS) (effective 9/1/24 lowered to:) |
$2,500 (applies even if get Save to Share) |
| MAX SHAREABLE AMOUNT (non-maternity) (effective 9/1/24 raised to:) |
$246,000 ($250,000 minus the MCS) (Can still join Save to Share to get sharing above $250k) |
| MATERNITY MAX SHAREABLE AMOUNT (2 person or higher required) |
$5000 (more sharing is available if certain conditions are met.) |
- All members of a family must be on the same membership plan type (Classic or Basic), not a mixture of both.
- If a share increase is proposed due to rising medical costs, members vote on whether to increase the shares. These increases usually happen ever 18-24 months, so there is actually no automatic annual increase. (another difference from insurance company plans) Voting is sent by email.
- If you only need a membership for one spouse it is ok to join as a “single” for membership purposes even though you are a married couple. Reasons this could happen would be if one spouse has work insurance but the other doesn’t, or one spouse may not be eligible for membership due to lifestyle (smoking, etc) or belief conflicts.
- If you have 2 or more kids and only one spouse needs to join, you would join at the three person family rate (so the other spouse might as well join if that person is eligible). There is a bonus to this, the spouse who already has insurance can have their left over insurance expenses (co-insurance or deductible amounts) shared by Samaritan members.
- If you are anticipating the possibility of a maternity need in the future, I recommend the Classic level plan (purple grid) because of the full sharing for maternity needs allowed. The Basic level caps maternity at $5000, which isn’t a lot if you have a hospital birth. It could be plenty if you have a home birth.
- There is a $100 switching fee to change plans. There are no blackout periods and you can change whenever you want. If switching from Basic to Classic all existing needs become pre-existing and are subject to the same 12 month treatment/symptom free rule before becoming non pre-existing again.
I am currently a member on the Classic plan, and have been for several years. I know the rule says that switching from Basic to Classic resets the pre-existing conditions for a 12 month period. What about if we have been on Classic for years, and then go to Basic, then we decide later that we would rather have Classic? Will you honor the years I have been on Classic and not apply a new 12 month pre-existing clause in that case?
Thank you.
Hi Jonathan. Thank you for asking. I am a member of Samaritan, and do not work for the Ministry. I did some research and show that the guidelines indicate the previous years on Classic to not count toward an exclusion of the 12 month clause. It would be as if you were starting fresh as a brand new member of Classic. I have pasted that section of guidelines below.
XIV. Switching Membership Levels.
B. Switching from Samaritan Basic to Samaritan Classic
Bills received at the SMI office after the date of the switch will be shared under the Samaritan Classic Guidelines only if the related need meets the requirements of Section VIII for not being pre-existing in relation to the date of the switch. In other words, all the needs of all the persons in the switching membership are treated like they became members on the day of the switch.
That means that any condition/injury occurring prior to the switch date, even if it occurred while the person was a Samaritan member participating in either membership level, is now pre-existing until it meets the new time/symptoms/treatment requirements in relation to the switching date. A new Special Prayer Need could be opened to request assistance for medical bills related to pre-existing conditions. (See Section V.A.)
I am pregnant and want to do a clink midwife birth
Is it too late to sign up?
Hi Jenny. Congratulations on your pregnancy! 🙂 That’s wonderful! If you join Samaritan now your maternity costs could be shared as a special prayer need, but not a regular need as the pregnancy has to start after you become a member. I think the due date has to be about 10 months after your membership start date to be fully shareable as a regular need. I’m so exciting for your new bundle of joy, and pray for God’s blessings on your pregnancy and delivery!
Hi there,
I was wondering since my husband and I are 29 if we sign up now how long are we locked into the basic rate? Is it only until we turn 30? Or is it for a calendar year or 12 months?
Hi Kimberly, for Basic the rates change as you age, based on the oldest spouse. I don’t know if it happens in the birthday month or the following. For Classic, it changes based on the number of household members on the plan (up or down accordingly, as kids age out, etc).
Hello, we are seriously considering switching to this. If a medical service above $400 is provided how long does it take for the health sharing payment to occur? During the paper work at the hospital do you just say you are a cash paying customer or how does it work? Thank you!
Hi Monica. The $400 mark is the combined total of bills for a specific need. Once your bills for that issue go above $400, the excess can be submitted to Samaritan (can be done online) for sharing. For our need a few years ago, we submitted the bills in December and it was shared in February. That timeline is typically how long it takes. There can be variations a month either way, and it can sometimes take a while to get all your bills together depending on how many places are sending them to you. Providers are not known for timely billing, plus you’ll want to review them for errors, listed discounts they’d agreed to, etc. Yes, when we had a need we told them we don’t have insurance, we are cash pay. They typically offer their cash pay rate and terms at that point. There are several different ways to have that conversation but it seems to be the method that works best for most members. For the needs we’ve had (not many thankfully) the process has been very simple and efficient.
Is this considered real health insurance? Are you guys required to pay all claims that arise while I am on this plan?
Hi Joe. Samaritan is a health care sharing ministry, it is not insurance. As a ministry they facilitate the sharing of medical bills between members, but there are no legal obligations to do so. Membership in a health sharing ministry IS allowed under the ACA, members get an exception to the ACA. Although the requirements of that kind of paperwork on our taxes changed a couple years ago and really isn’t required anymore.
It is so good ? knowing that Americans will support ? each other with positive health care. Because of costs that are impossible to afford by the average consumer. Thanks!!
Administration;
I am an 81 year old male with Mecicare (Part A & B), and I am considering Samaritan Ministries for a ‘supplement’.
I noticed above in replies to other people ‘ACA’…..what does that mean/stand for?
Hi George. The ACA was the Affordable Care Act, the law mandating health insurance for everyone… Samaritan members were exempt under the health care sharing provision. Technically the ACA is still in effect, but its been tweaked enough that we no longer need to submit anything with our tax forms regarding our membership. I think as a Medicare recipient you met the terms of the ACA by default anyway.
I have a friend turning 65 in August who has the Good Samaritan insurance. If he stays with Good Samaritan and elects not to take Medicare Part B, will he be penalized for not taking part B? Is Good Samaritan considered “ creditable coverage”? Most company insurance is considered creditable coverage. For example, as long as a person has insurance from his employer, he can stay with it even though he has turned 65. When he decides to get Medicare, let’s say when he is 66, he will not be penalized for not taking Medicare Part B when he was 65, because he had creditable coverage through his employers insurance. So again, is Good Samaritan considered “creditable coverage”.thank you
Hi William. Samaritan Ministries isn’t health insurance (as a health sharing ministry it’s an ACA approved alternative) so I have doubts about it being considered credible coverage for Medicare, but I don’t know for sure. Samaritan staff may know, and a Medicare advisor may know. Give Samaritan a call at (888) 268-4377 to see what they think (I’m sure the wait time is way less than waiting for a Medicare rep). Good luck in your research.
William, I work for Samaritan, and I am 68 and have opted out of Medicare part B. It is my understanding that the only type of coverage that exempts a person from the potential penalty for opting out is an ACA approved group coverage which we are obviously not.. In case you are confused about the “penalty” it only comes into play if a person opts out of Medicare part B and or part D, and then later on, for whatever reason decides to get into either of those programs.. At that point, it is likely that a penalty will be added to the monthly premium… Medicare.gov explains that pretty clearly..As a side note, in my opinion, the penalty is not logical as I am relieving the Medicare program from the obligation of any of my medical bills of which the average participant has those in excess of the amount they pay in… So… if I am ever in that position which I pray doesn’t come, I intend to try to argue my way out of the penalty, but I would be in error to suggest that I will probably win that argument….. Jamie
I have two questions please. First being I travel extensively in an RV so I attend church from my hometown online. During this pandemic I would attend online even if I was home. So how would I account to you for this?
Second I have well managed type 2 diabetes. But it’s managed with meds along with lifestyle changes I made. I’ve read and reread the preexisting clause but I’m not sure I qualify. Do I?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Debra. I don’t work for Samaritan so you’ll want to contact them for their specific rules. However, I found this regarding the diabetes: “For Type 2 diabetes, you will have met the 12-month limitation if:
at least 12 months have passed without any symptoms, treatment, or medication; and
in the month before and the month after the 12-month period (and anytime you are tested in-between) your Hemoglobin A1C test level is 7 percent or below. Documentation of these test results must be provided to the office.”
As for the church attendance, I’m sure a lot of things have been thrown out of whack with Covid. Samaritan will likely still require your home church to sign off that you are a regular participant, but I don’t know what they require for in person attendance given your RV status. If you get ahold of them they should be able to guide you.
Is this sharing a write off at tax time?
In most cases, no. I have more information about the tax considerations here: https://samaritanministriesreview.com/tax-details/ Also, the shares that you receive from members to help pay for a need are also not taxed as income.
We use allopathic and integrative medicine when needed. Is integrative shareable or parts of the treatment they may use?
Hi Miriam. I’m not familiar with those terms, but I do know that Samaritan is one of the only healthshare ministries that will share costs for approved alternative medicine treatments. So your chances are pretty good for sharing options, but you’d want to contact their offices directly to see if your specific treatments are something that qualify.
My husband and I currently have medical insurance through his work but he is seriously considering retiring next year, at age 58 or 59. We are considering health care sharing until we reach the age to receive Medicare. I am a little nervous about how it all works. We’ve always had traditional insurance through his employer. As I said, we are currently 58 and fair health. Could this be a viable option for us?
Hi Christie, yes, healthcare sharing would be an excellent option for you. A friend of mine did exactly what you’re contemplating in fact. Samaritan has many members in the same situation. Many were looking for an affordable option when insurance rates became too expensive or when they lost their employer coverage. I’ve read about those who assumed it would be a shortterm stopgap for them but they instead chose to stay on longterm once they’d experienced membership a while. It sounds like this could be a great solution for you as you wait for Medicare, and you may even decide to keep Samaritan while on Medicare as the supplemental option, depending on how all your options compare. Many do that, also.
Once you sign up does your coverage start right away or do you have to pay in for so many months before you can start quality have medical bills covered?
You can set to have it start as soon as they receive your application. Bills are shareable right away as long it meets the guidelines and isn’t in pre-existing status. Pregnancies are not shareable until the due date is 260 days past membership start date. (so members can get pregnant quickly, just not the same day). See maternity guidelines at this page: https://samaritanministries.org/resources/classic-basic-guidelines
Hello being that you are not an insurance company, does this mean at tax time I would be penalized for “not having medical insurance”? Also what doctors and hospitals are available to me through Samaritin Ministries?
Thank you,
Sarah
No, that penalty no longer exists in the tax structure. Even if it did, sharing ministry members were exempt under the ACA so we had no penalties anyway. Any doctors who take cash patients are available. This is not insurance, there is no network, so you can go pretty much anywhere you want, even outside the US (just get bills converted into US dollars so they can be submitted). It’s complete healthcare freedom.
Sorry my reply was late, I didn’t see your comment until today. 🙁
Please send me the information I need for coverage. I am in-between jobs and I think I will only need coverage for 3 months, but when I retire, this is where I will more than likely get my insurance. My brother-in-law has this insurance. His name is Daniel Gilmore.
Hi Barbara. I do not work at the main office, but if you fill out the form at this link, you can fill out the info for a free downloadable packet of information. Reference Daniel as your referral and he’ll get a signup credit when you enroll. Samaritan is wonderful!
What time commitment am I making when I enroll? I am currently uninsured but that may change in the future.
Hi Cheryl. That’s one of the many great perks about health care sharing, there is no open enrollment period so you can join or cancel whenever it works for you… some members will keep Samaritan even after gaining employer insurance if their new deductibles are too high (expenses not covered by insurance can be shared by Samaritan), but others will stick with only one, it’s all up to you. You gain tremendous flexibility with your ministry membership. I highly recommend it and am glad you’re investigating the possibility. Happy New Year!