Are Health Shares a Better Deal for Individuals or Families?

Whether you are signing up with your family as part of a household membership or as an individual, health shares have options to suit your needs. But not all memberships are built equally, and some offer better value for families or individuals.

To find out whether an individual or family membership may offer you the best value, read below.

Individuals

All health shares have membership options, like Christian Healthcare Ministries’ (CHM) Gold program or Zion HealthShare’s Direct membership, that both families and individuals may join.

But there are some exceptions, like Liberty HealthShare’s Liberty Rise program, which is only available to individuals 18–29 years old. While the Liberty Rise program has a low monthly contribution amount of $119, it does have a $50,000 annual sharing limit and a limited range of eligible treatments and services. Some HealthShares also offer senior memberships, which are only available to individuals aged 65 and older with Medicare Parts A and B but feature a lower monthly contribution amount and more limited eligible services and treatments than most other memberships.

If you are young and healthy, you may not be as concerned by pre-existing conditions policies or sharing limits. It is important to research the details of your membership before joining, to ensure you are not overpaying for services you do not want, or missing out on features you do want included with your membership.

Families

Many premium memberships, like CHM’s Gold program, offer services specific to families. Depending on the membership, these may include services like maternity sharing, child wellness visits, preventive immunizations, and physical therapy.

Similarly, if a membership has a maximum number of IUAs that members have to pay within a year, like Zion HealthShare’s Direct or Essential memberships, it is easier to meet those with a household membership than an individual membership.

If you are planning on starting a family while being a member of a health share, it is important that you choose a membership that offers maternity sharing, and that you understand when any relevant waiting periods for maternity sharing begin and end.

Conclusion

Family and individual memberships can both offer great value. Individuals should choose a membership that offers what they need at a lower cost, and families should ensure their membership has all of the features they need or want.