Samaritan Ministries

8 years on Samaritan with my wife and 4 children, and can’t think of any reason to go back to traditional health insurance.

Many of the issues in previous posts here have to do with a disagreement on policy (pregnancy timing, preexisting conditions, religious eligibility, etc), or increases in cost. All of those are actually hallmarks of a healthy system. You want a system of guidelines to be administered as written for the good of all the members, and as medical coats increase, it would be reasonable to expect regular increases. In my opinion Samaritan has managed that as well as could reasonably be expected.

Philosophically, Samaritan does a great job getting back to the roots of insurance: stepping in for unexpected medical burdens, while expenses that are predictable should be planned for in your personal budget. If you like that viewpoint, whule reviewing the Samaritan Guidelines with that in mind, you should like being a member of Samaritan.

If I could leave Samaritan Ministries a 0 star review I would. At first I was very excited to be working with a Christian company and the coverage sounded perfect since at the time my husband worked at a smaller company that didn’t offer any insurance plans (he only had a catastrophic plan that would cover anything over $17k), and I was/am self-employed without insurance at the time. (We told SM as much as well in our consequential appeal, but despite that info they had ZERO compassion for our situation.)

Everything went south when we found out that not a DIME of our very first pregnancy would be covered by SM. We signed on in June and then shortly after found out that we were pregnant (we were married already & conceived while married so we “followed” SM’s rules there). We weren’t expecting to be pregnant so I hadn’t taken a pregnancy test until well passed my period was due & I finally noticed enough to test.

According to SM guidelines your due date must be within 260 days of becoming a member and we were outside of that by a matter of DAYS. Of course that fact is in their guidelines (which we read before signing), but that’s not going to stick out to you among the pages & pages of guidelines until you’re counting the days until your due date after a surprise first pregnancy & realize that 260 days is less than 40weeks of pregnancy. Because of that, they said that they wouldn’t cover our first pregnancy at ALL. They said that we could share our bills to the “Sharable” donations side of things. While thankful for the donations, we received $75 total which hardly covers anything.

To me it’s a pretty ridiculous rule because we basically wasted $700+ (about $1,500 total by the end of the ordeal while making 0 bill claims) with SM by not being able to know that we were pregnant before joining. How is that remotely fair? ***As in by that stipulation SM basically said that to make sure that your pregnancy will be covered by SM you & your spouse would have to abstain from sex the month prior to joining SM JUST TO MAKE SURE that you won’t have a pregnancy that won’t be covered at all.*** OR you risk wasting $700-$1,200 on membership & setup fees if you do happen to get pregnant (by God’s will mind you). How does that stipulation make any sense?

We were infuriated that SM would say things such as “We continue to pray for you and this little one, and look forward to walking this road with you.” & “The Lord promises this is for the good of his people and for His glory, We care for you and are here to help however we can.” when they rejected our appeal to get the pregnancy covered and didn’t help us AT ALL. WE EVEN OFFERED TO BACK PAY A MONTH to get our due date within the 260 day window which, again, we were only out of by a matter of DAYS and they refused. We expected a Christian company to apply more grace in their practices especially when there are babies involved. Our first baby was supposed to be an exciting time for us, but instead they made the first trimester absolute hell for me.

To solve our problem, we had to cancel SM and my husband (Thank GOD) found another job with benefits. (But keep in mind the benefits didn’t kick in for 90 days after he started working there’s yet another area we were bleeding money due to SM ignoring our situation.)

While SM sounds like a great option at first, if you aren’t in a cookie cutter situation with them Samaritan Ministries won’t show you an ounce of compassion or grace.

We have been Samaritan members since 2004 and have always been very pleased with it. When my planned homebirth (2009) ended up requiring transfer to the hospital, Samaritan shared all the bills without any difficulty. When my husband had a fever of unknown origin (2023) and required hospitalization, Samaritan was there, praying with us on the phone and sharing all the costs. We have had broken bones, hand and knee surgeries, lots of physical therapy, and miscellaneous other needs with our growing family. I do the work of acquiring and submitting bills, and I understand the process can be tedious. It’s worth it for our household, and we are very grateful for Samaritan Ministries.

The shares are continually increasing. They cannot cover the medical bills for their members. Instead of adjusting what they cover, they just keep increasing everyone’s shares. Members are able to abuse the system and run up huge medical bills for multiple problems and everyone else has to pay their bills. They need to have members have more financial skin in the game to weed out the abusers. While claiming to be Christians, the members on their FB are acting far from Christian. Many are very greedy and want shares increased to cover their increasing expenses. There is no guarantee what you signed up for on Day 1 will be the same in a month or two. The rules are constantly changing whenever the board wants to, which is all the time. Your monthly cost could increase each month. You have no idea what your family will be paying in a years time. And when the members voted down a share increase they called for another vote (note following the policies in place). Making up their own rules again. Now they have changed the rules again and members votes on changes no longer count. The board makes all the decisions. They now have way too much power and continue to give themselves more. Run away quickly!

The ministry has changed over the recent years. The boards has given themselves way too much power. Members used to have a voice and were able to vote for changes. The board has changed the wording of the rules making it impossible for the members to stop a change put forth by the board. They say the “member voted board” votes on behalf of the members. However, when voting for the board you are given very little information on them. You are not allowed to know which board member voted which way on recent changes. They said “they are protecting the board member’s privacy???? Females are not allowed to run for the board. This is a very controlling organization. They are always short on money to pay the member’s bills. With the way they are currently running the ministry, they will not last much longer.

I have been a healthshare member for over 30 years, started out with Christian Care Medishare and moved to Samaritan Ministries after some research and cost comparison. I originally joined to get MedEvac while serving overseas ministries; that means I could be evacuated from where I was to a more developed nation for emergency care. Members of Samaritan Ministries as well as staff have been supportive as the process engenders such care. I have not paid out more than $400 for an incident, without receiving the rest through members. It’s good to know that pre-existing conditions are covered after a year of no incidents, for those who are thinking of how to deal with healthcare costs outside of routine wellcare such as physicals. There are no huge deductibles. If you should join the membership that covers incidents costing over $250k, your max contribution is under $2k per an incident. You will be supporting like-minded Christians during their times of joy (new babies) and stress both financially and with your messages/notes.

My wife had to have carpal tunnel surgery and for a pinched nerve. The doctor was able to do both surgeries at the same time. I sent in the forms to get the need approved by Samaritan, and they approved it. The week after my wife had her surgery, a rep from Samaritan called me and said they were reviewing my wife’s need, and they determined that I needed to file a workman’s comp. claim before Samaritan would publish the need. He did not ask any questions about my wife’s hobbies or activities. He stated that Samaritan’s position was that her employment (dental hygienist) caused the problem and should therefor pay for the surgery. I explained to him that I could not try to put the blame on her employer for this. My conscience would not allow me to, and if I did, I feel as if I would be sinning. I have faithfully sent my need share every month to whomever I was instructed to. I have been a member for over 3 years. I am disappointed that a ‘Christian’ organization would stoop to such low measures.

We have loved the experience so far. My husband is self employed which makes traditional insurance very expensive. We are so thankful for this ministry helping our family be able to pay our medical needs. We were on Christian Healthcare Ministry (CHM) and decided to make the switch to Samaritan Ministries and so glad we did.

The company has reimbursed everything that they said they would within their guidelines. Our experience with them as been great thus far. We have been members since December 2021.

I would have given them a 1 but the staff are pleasant and have prayed with my wife multiple times over the phone. However, it’s just not for us it just adds one more layer of complexity into our family that I would prefer not to deal with. Think of having a sick child (like we do), trying to figure out how to share a need, remembering to send in our monthly share, deal with the medical billers worry that your legitimate need may not be approved….etc. Why can’t most of this process be automated? Why do some people only take paper checks? Why does Samaritan Ministries only take paper checks? Honestly if I could have gone back we would have just saved or invested the money we were sending every month and it would have been simpler.

Communication from Samaritan administration has been steadily declining for years, making it impossible to really plan based on their share amounts, which are constantly changing. In past years, they have introduced pregnancy coverage changes with only days of notice. This year, they asked for a vote to increase share amounts, which did not pass and are asking for another just 60 days later. They are also asking to raise the current prorating maximum, so there is no way to anticipate cost increases with Samaritan; they can change anything anytime. They simply cannot be depended upon.

This is excellent alternative to health insurance that really works – if you accept the limitations to the system. Health care costs in the US continue to skyrocket year after year, and Samaritan has been adapting their pricing model accordingly to stay affordable and help Christian families share in each others burdens.

We have been Samaritan Classic members for 7 years and have multiple needs in that time. Samaritan has always covered our needs, and looked for ways to help even when our needs aren’t covered, such as dental issues. Having people willing to pray with you on the phone, and getting handwritten letters and cards in the mail knowing other Christian families are praying for you is an amazing blessing.

You have to know that part of their pricing model is that you pay for your annual check-ups and routine care. They state up front that this should be part of your family budgeting and isn’t covered by Samaritan. Samaritan is there to step in when costs become a hinderance for a family. So expect that you are going to share in the health needs of others each month, that you’ll cover your basic routine appointments, and that when you have a health need, other Christians are going to help you with your need while you cover just the first $400. This isn’t insurance. It’s so much better. Insurance companies want to do what they can to deny you help for their shareholders. Samaritan wants to do what it can to help you.

We are grateful to be members, even with the out of control costs of modern healthcare.

We’ve been with Samaritan for several years. Pros—Good customer service and representatives will pray for you over the phone. Cons-Needs take a long time to be met. Don’t be in a hurry for your money. It will take 2-3 months. You will need a good savings account to pay for some medical procedures upfront and then wait for your reimbursement. Otherwise, you will need to open a credit card and pay interest while waiting for the money to arrive. You also have to do the work of negotiating with providers. When I had regular insurance, that was all up to the insurance company. It’s better than nothing, but I miss having actual health insurance with co-pays.

This has been one of the worst experiences of my life. I would have never thought in a million years, that an institution who claims to be Christian acts in the way they do. My church and my statement of faith qualify for the coverage, but as I thought and prayed further on this inclusive process, I couldn’t help but to think how the role of us as His servants is not to judge or to exclude as we have no idea who He will chose to save in the end. We are to accept all people, and be mindful of our own life style. As a reformist and someone who believes in election, even this was hard for me to live with.

Second, it isn’t too difficult claiming a need. We didnt have any trouble with it, but I see that other folks have. What is the problem is the onslaught of checks that get sent your way. We had a rather large need claimed for our son, and it resulted in major headaches getting checks on time, and some bounced. It is then your responsibility to make sure you have checked off all the checks you get and that you get the bill paid. As it works out, Samaritan really does nothing at all aside from tell you where to send your share each month. However, what comes next is the worst.

Samaritan will call your provider to make sure that you have paid the bill in full. I wont get too much in detail with this one, but regardless of the issues with the checks, you need to make sure this bill is paid in full or they will threaten to inactivate your account and call your church leader. They will say that you are being dishonest which is “evil”. They also don’t consider that you may have had a balance on your account with this provider prior to the need.

All in all, I understand why folks select this method the same as we did, health insurance, if not obtainable through your employer, is rather expensive. But, I would highly advise everyone who is considering samaritan health to really make sure that you read all the fine print and understand that it is a huge chore to claim and follow through with your needs, and there is a chance that you may be verbally attacked and threatened by the administrative staff if you dont do everything correctly. For our family, we dont want to be affiliated with an institution such as this, and would rather pay more money to what appears to be a more ethical health insurance market (as sad as that is to say), or just look elsewhere. I dont think we will be trying any health shares out again anytime soon.

We loved being on the Samaritan Ministries plan. Unfortunately, they had a change in board membership which included new individuals that did not like our Church and several others. As a result, in 2019, they changed their Statement of Faith in a way to exclude several Christian churches that aren’t part of what is considered mainstream United States christianity.

When I queried their support team, I received a response that included assertions about our Church doctrine that were patently untrue, but served as the basis for their decision to exclude us from their plan. Overall, the experience was disappointing and a clear example of religious bigotry. Even if they changed their Statement of Faith to allow us in again, I would never do business with this organization again.

Avoid Samaritan at all costs. We joined at the recommendation of some friends and decided their Given plan was the best, easiest choice for our family. We ended up paying for the vast majority of our bills out of pocket as Samaritan either refuses to cover most costs or makes it exceedingly difficult to submit bills to apply to your “deductible.” Little help is ever offered and you end up more frustrated than with private health plans.

We love Samaritan Ministries Health Sharing Program.
We have been in the program for 7 or 8 years but had never used it before this past year. It was a such a blessing to be able to turn everything in on line and have everything outside of the initial $300 spent covered by fellow Christians. The cards and notes of encouragement that came in with the payments were so thoughtful and kind. We encourage people to take a look at this program. It has given us peace of mind and security.

My parents are with Samaritan Ministries. My dad recently had a series of medical procedures to make sure he was in good health (after recovering from COVID-19). They paid up front somewhere close to $5,500, and they are getting NOTHING back from SM. The reason? SM conveniently decided to break up the visit into 4 procedures and told him he had a $1,500 deductible for each one. Two of the “separate procedures” were done in one surgery – endoscopy and colonoscopy. I’m very disappointed with these unfair practices from Samaritan Ministries. I don’t think that’s how the Good Samaritan in the Bible would have treated the injured man.

I had been enrolled for the Basic plan when we found out we were pregnant with our second child. 6 months later we called and decided to upgrade to the Classic plan in order to have better coverage being that our family was growing. We talked to the representative and she said nothing about it cancelling our ability to share the need of our child’s birth. No transparency or interests in informing us of the details. I later talked to a supervisor named Erin and she denied that they had any responsibility of informing us of this info upon upgrading our plan. Very disappointed in this company’s lack of concern for their clients and failure to take responsibility for lack of transparency. Now we are looking at a $5,500 bill that would haive originally been shared by Samaritan.

Before my family of six joined Samaritan in August of 2017, we had to pay a penalty on our income tax for the two previous years for not having health insurance. The price quotes we had received for insurance were astronomical from the private sector and the health care marketplace. Some were as high as $1,500/mo with a $5,000 deductible for catastrophic insurance. I recall hearing advertisements on a local Christian radio station for one of Samaritan’s competitors. At that time, I started researching the major Christian Health-sharing organizations. What I liked about Samaritan is that we still pay other families directly, not through a central hub, like the others. I also like praying for other families and sending them notes of encouragement. I’ve had to submit two or three needs since becoming a member and other families stepped up to the plate and reimbursed me for all medical expenses (minus $300, my initial unsharable amount). Recently, I was reminded that I made the right choice by choosing Samaritan when I received the following notification from them: “As COVID-19 began disrupting our health care system, economy, and lives, we extended the time allowed for negotiations on Needs and the total amount in negotiation rose to $15 million. Even though we would normally have prorated in Classic during March, April, May, and June, we directed $1.5 million IN ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS toward Needs and only prorated in May.” This is a Godly company who sacrifices their own admin funds for the benefit of those they serve. Can you imagine any insurance agency doing something like that? Perhaps on a cold day in heck! If you’re a Christian who’s considering health sharing, you’re making a wise move. If you’re considering Samaritan, in my opinion you won’t find a better group of people. I give them my highest recommendation.

We are very happy with Samaritan Ministries. 3 surgeries all paid without incident One amazing benefit is their sponsorship program. We were unable to pay our monthly share due to job loss. We were able to stay with Samaritan as they reduced our monthly share for 6 months (option for longer if needed). Who does that? It actually happened twice in 8 years. I love that I speak with a real rep if i need any help. Submitting bills is very easy via computer scanning. Dashboard use on computer is also well organized and offers many helpful features as well as those you use to navigate the program. Read guidelines to see if it’s a good fit for your family. If so, a great way to go

With pleasure I review this wonderful healthshare ministry. We’ve been with Samaritan for 7 years and have been very happy. When my husband lost his job Samaritan has a sponsorship program that allowed us to have a reduced rate we could afford for 6 months! Who does that? It actually happened twice and both times the reduced rate allowed us to keep healthcare. We have had 3 surgeries and every cent was paid. They’re dashboard makes submitting bill’s very easy as well as navigating other issues. Recently, (7/2020) they are asking members to vote on new pricing and other changes. Even if we do increase our monthly shares, it’s very competitive with other sharing plans. Delve into their guidelines and read carefully to see if this is a good fit. Their cust reps are very sweet and knowledgeable; we always get a real person. Love Samaritan!

I was a previous member of Liberty Medishare and was always worried about bills they were negotiating for months at a time ,not paying for up to a year ,with some getting to the point of collection ,especially with some providers like Providence ,who don’t really care to work with Medishare companies.

I’ve been with Samaritan Ministries for over a year now. Halfway through that year, I ended up with an unusual injury that took a long time to diagnose properly. I had to get an x-ray, two MRIs, and have a number of doctor’s visits and physical therapy sessions on the road to recovery. Over six months later and I am thriving, and Samaritan Ministries made it very straightforward to submit all my itemized bills. One time, I didn’t do things the way they usually like them done, so there was a message on my bills that I needed to make some changes. I contacted customer support via their messaging platform and the gal was super kind and just manually fixed/merged “duplicate” bills (that could’ve been together) for me. Like, I didn’t even have to do anything. It’s also super encouraging to get checks and/or deposits with really sweet notes of people praying for your healing!

Very highly recommend Samaritan ministries!

Attempted to join Samaritan Ministries but their statement of faith effectively bars anyone who is a member of the Church of Scientology, Unitarian Church Jehovah’s Witness, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My wife and I are faithful members of one of the above faiths. We had a discussion with a rep (Rafael) and he said our beliefs are not in compliance with Samaritan Ministries. Our weekly “church attendance” did not qualify for their “church attendance” requirements. Rafael said our Jesus is different from Samaritan Ministries “Jesus.” Misleading and discriminatory in our opinion. We will happily look elsewhere.

We’ve been with Samaritan for apporx a year and a half now, and we’ve been happy so far. One pregnancy, some minor bills were paid with no issues. Most hospital bills are difficult to decipher, which makes it almost impossible to get it right the first time so You’ll have to be patient. Some of the bills will have to be paid upon visit, or short time after, which might be an issue for some families living paycheck to paycheck. This system is designed for families that are stable financially. I guess a credit card can be used to cover some of the initial costs if You can’t cover them, however I would not recommend it, simply because it may take 1-2 months before bills are covered by Samaritan. As I’ve said, this is a really nice system, that has potential to save a lot, if You’re willing to live responsibly.

I have been a member for 2-1/2 years. Members need to be assertive, willing to ask for cash payment discounts, and even shop around, but I think that is a good thing. I recently saved $500 on pre-operative testing by not going to the recommended laboratory. Oh, and the price going to an insurance company would have been $1200.
As for preventative care, just because Samaritan doesn’t cover this doesn’t mean it isn’t encouraged. If you consider the low monthly cost of Samaritan, an $80 (cash pay) mammogram, once a year, is almost nothing. Once a year routine blood work was less than $250. Bone density scan at cash
pay price was $60. And I live in California! I have never been treated differently for asking for a cash discount, or felt slighted in any way. I am an active partner in my health care versus massive bills going to an insurance company.

We have been with Samaritan Ministries for 4 years now, and have only had one share, but it was a big one just a few months after joining. My son broke his thumb and needed surgery. We were able to negotiate a much lower cash prices and so the costs were completely shared back with us (over $9000). If you can negotiate for lower prices (cash vs listed price) the $400 amount that is not shared will be lessened or taken off completely if you have saved that amount. The shares were reimbursed fairly quickly after we entered them.

We like the communication and participation as well. We do feel like we are part of the organization rather than just a customer of a company.

The one downside is not really a problem with Samaritan, but rather with the healthcare system in general. We try to price shop and Samaritan is trying to help, but many places are just not set up for cash-pay customers.

A final note of caution. The requirements are pretty steep and a pre-existing condition of asthma for my wife is not covered. We have 4 kids and do end up spending money on several visits that fall under their spending limits. We are still saving lots of money over comparable health insurance.

I found the program difficult to file needs and dangerous without preventive care. It seems everything claim was a prior or routine even though a normal office visit would not handle the exam. Colonoscopies are only covered if you are bleeding which means you already have cancer.

Yearly check ups and the testing that goes with it are not covered. Even office visits when you are hurting but the doctor can not do a diagnosis are not covered. Therefore members tend not to go to the doctor and when they do have a need the condition would be far worse then what could have been handled if normal office visits were in the program. Services not covered were rectum exam and diagnostic colonoscopy with biopsy.

We can’t say enough about how amazing Samaritan Ministries has been for our family (two adults, and now two children). Here are some numbers from our experience with Samaritan Ministries since 2012:

4: total submitted medical needs
$105,000: total of medical bills
$50,500: self-pay discounts
$54,500: final post-discount bills
89%: largest percentage discount on any single bill ($830 discounted from bill)
$31,000: largest dollar amount discount on any single bill (70% of the full bill)
48.1%: total percentage of discounts received
141: families who have shared our bills
30+: states we received shares from
$0: our net out-of-pocket cost on submitted medical needs

We’ve been a member of Samaritan for over 5 years. It’s nice to be able to send money directly to someone with a medical need. Customer service prays with you! We’ve had 3 needs that were all filled in a timely manner. The process of turning in bills is ridiculously easy compared to dealing with insurance companies. We did have a little disappointment over a Special Prayer Need but not a big deal. We are also members of Save to Share. It’s nice to know believers are together, really supporting one another. Great job, Samaritan!!!

Seems like a rather bigoted organization

https://www.ksl.com/article/46640296/christian-health-care-organization-asks-latter-day-saints-to-rethink-their-beliefs-or-leave

I have been a member for over 20 years. Yes, when they were first getting started! It has been wonderful! We have had more than our fair share of claims. They have always responded with kindness. When I was in the hospital and the outcome was questionable, they took the time to pray and encourage my husband. It may take 2or3 months to get your money but that is a small price to pay for how much you save. It is a Christian organization and therefore has Biblical standards, which I appreciate. I can’t say enough positive things about it.

I have been a member of Samaritan Ministries for 7 years. I have shared over $42,000 of needs with other Christians. Thank you Lord that I have been able to be a blessing to my brothers and sisters. Over the 7 years my family of 6 has had needs of less than $5000. Last winter my youngest daughter contracted strep throat 5 times. She has large tonsils and her Pediatrician recommended that she have her tonsils removed. To my shock, when I contacted Samaritans to set this up, I was told that I first had to beg family members and my church for the money first or pay for it myself. Wait, wha?!? I have contributed a lot of money into this system! I have a bad taste in my mouth to say the least.

After contemplation:
1. Why would someone who has been a faithful contributor be treated so poorly?
2. Is there corruption in their system? Are there people scamming their system causing the people who do the right
thing to be punished by Samaritans?
3. IMO a LOW PREMIUM with a $2000 deductible HSA is a better route than Samaritans but at this point in time, it
doesn’t exist.
4. If you are healthy, finding a way to self insure is a better way.

We have been members of Samaritan for over 3 years. We save about $1,000 each month over Obamacare. We have had a couple of minor needs covered, and one major need. My child wound up in the hospital with a bill totaling over $9500. We were able to get discounts that brought the bill down to about $8,000. Every penny was covered by Samaritan. Because our discounts exceeded $300, the $300 deductible was waived too. Best of all, I was able to tell the doctors to do whatever they deemed medically necessary, because they were not constrained by what insurance would or wouldn’t cover. My child got wonderful care and recovered completely. One doctor remarked to me that it was “wonderful to practice medicine without worrying about an insurance company.” Samaritan staff were patient and kind as I submitted the bills. We love Samaritan.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE – A great match for middle income families.
High monthly premium s and paying a huge bill over time for the birth of our third child made us sour on traditional 80/20 coverage. We obtained Samaritan, a great solution. 10 years, several $50,000 medical events and a load of regular family medical needs later, we are happy with Samaritan. Great transparency. Yes, you will save enormously monthly over traditional insurance. Bank the savings! Yes the twisted ankle, ear infection and routine items will cost you the first visit out of pocket amount. Need mental health benefits, go elsewhere. That’s why you saved. Know that you will have paper work. Know that the rules are there to secure the plan. They make sense. This is a take charge, prayerful program, really more of a community. Overall, excellent. A big advantage is the “need” approval for the ankle, stays open at full reimbursement over time. Share to save is a super.

My family has been a part of Samaritan for over 5 years now. We have had several needs since then, from childbirth to shoulder pain. Most of our needs have been covered, although a couple have not. All in all, though, Samaritan beats Obamacare soundly. Considering cost alone (in monthly shares, Save to Share, and what we have paid out of pocket for unshareable needs), Samaritan was less expensive by far for us. The added benefit of sending shares directly to others and receiving kindhearted notes with needs checks is something we could never expect from traditional insurance.

Our family started this a few years ago when the Affordable Care Act priced us out of the insurance market. Our rates for a family of three through ACA was over $2K per month with a $13K deductible. Our coverage at SMI was about $530/month (with save to share option) and a $300 ‘deductible’. In the first year of membership my wife got a herniated disc. I was concerned that they would find a reason to not share but that was not the case at all. The doctor said we should have surgery but was concerned that the insurance company would require us go through drug and physical therapy first. When the doctor/hospital realized we were going to pay within 30 days of service, we moved to the front of the line for surgery that week and an incredible 75% discount on the hospital expense. The list price for everything was about 90K but the discounts brought it down to $26K with all but $300 being paid by fellow members of SMI. Wow, we were truly blessed. If still under ACA not only would we be paying $18K more annually in insurance premiums, we would have also been out of pocket $13K for the deductible. I can’t say enough about this program. There is also very much a faith based aspect that helps put health care in perspective.

I’ve been using Samaritan Ministries for almost two years. I’ve only ever needed to file a claim once and that went fairly smoothly. No complaints at that time. It took 2-3 months from my hospital date to get funds in. It took the hospital a month to send the bills. A month for SMI to get my need posted/shared. Another month to start getting funds to pay the bills. It went easily enough. And the customer service at the time was great.

However, there are some observations that make me question my membership.

I was originally referred to them through some friends from church. In the 18-24 months I’ve been with them they’ve made enough significant changes for me to consider leaving. As a married woman’s child-bearing age who pays as an individual (my husband gets fantastic insurance for himself and has pre-existing medical conditions that Samaritan ministries would never cover), I was greatly bothered when they changed their pregnancy policy within 6 months of my signup and then implemented those changes a few months later (apparently after people complained). I specifically called them when I signed up to make sure I’d be covered if I got pregnant. Six months later, they changed they’re policy. Now, you pay the monthly “pregnancy” fee, which is equivalent to paying for a couple, orneed to sign up your spouse (in my case this is useless because he wouldn’t be able to use the service) When I called to ask them about this, I got a curt explanation as to how pregnancy was a costly expense. Not terribly helpful and it felt like they were making decisions about pregnancies the same way health insurance companies do. It felt like being penalized for getting pregnant. Yes, pregnancy is expensive, which is why insurance companies don’t like to cover it either. I may be a rare case, because I have friends that are enrolled as a family and have had all five of their kids with SM, they love it, but the cost works in their favor.
Also, please note their policy on high-risk pregnancies or if you have any risk factors for one. Please read the guidelines carefully and DEFINITELY call before you sign up. Think ectopic pregnancies and complications associated with those risks, and what they will or will not medically allow with regards to the life of the mother. Be informed.

Second, adoption. If this is a prospect for you and your family, please contact them and ask them about what they will or will not cover with regards to adopted children and medical needs. To my knowledge, adopted children that had “pre-existing” conditions (whether you find out before or after you bring them home) will not have those needs covered (I had a question about adopting a child with special needs).

They’re clear that this service is not for everyone, and truly it’s not. They also aren’t insurance, so don’t expect there to be any guarantees of a need share being approved. It may not. If you’re healthy and need very little medical care, it’s probably great. If you have any kind of health needs going in, it’s pre-existing and likely uncovered. Yeah, there’s “special prayer needs” but there’s no guarantee of help.

It’s affordable compared to most health insurance options on the market, and if you live on “the bubble” the price makes sense if you don’t need a lot of care. It is nice to send and reveive prayer cards With your shares.

My wife and I have been members of Samaritan for six years now and have nothing but praise for how the ministry works. We have had three medical needs during our time with Samaritan – two pregnancies/births, and one emergency appendectomy. All told, about $98,000 in bills that were discounted or negotiated down to $54,000 — and every penny was covered by Samaritan. Other than our monthly shares, we ultimately didn’t pay a dime of those bills.

I’ve written extensively on our experience, going into much greater detail here: http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/p/samaritan-ministries.html

Samaritan has been a wonderful experience for my family, and I can’t recommend it enough.

We joined 3 years ago and it was the best decision we ever made. We have had 3 “needs” or claims. I small and two for orthopedic surgeries for our children. All paid! If you read the guidelines carefully and do your research there shouldn’t be any suprises. Previously we had normal high deductible medical insurance. After having claims denied, claims paid wrong, delays in payment, hours on the phone, never getting the same person twice with traditional insurance, we found Samaritan MInistries to be a breath of fresh air!

I joined almost a year ago. Worst decision I ever made. They find every reason not to cover you but have no problem taking your money. Unethical. To top it off, Marchello (customer service), belittles you, talks over you and makes unfounded accusations. They treated me like crap. Don’t go to them.

Price is not bad, with a per incident low out of pocket cost it’s easy to get to the point where you start getting reimbursed, however their new basic plan, I almost never get to. Sometimes I don’t know what I’m paying for, feels like nothing.

Transparency, haha, Within one month of having this plan they informed me of all these hidden rules. When I told them it was not in the guidelines what they were asking me to do (have doctors fill out “proof” forms) they said, “it would be impractical to make the guidelines as detailed as you are asking for.” I suppose they make their customers have all the transparency, by share your medical issues with everyone who is supposed to send you money.

Submitting claims: I guess it’s easy to snap a photo of your bill. But the form you must fill out is ridiculous. Names, addresses, comments and You must rate the providers, all required fields before you can submit the bill. Even though the bill must show an address, they require you type it in.

Reimbursement time; they say 2-3 months and that is when everything goes smoothly. I had a bill get flagged and they required I take a form back to my doctor to get signed for “proof.” It took 5 months to get money. When I complained and asked them were this is in the guidelines that I have to do this they said, “rain is inconvenient, but we just have to deal with it.”

Incredibly rude people to be called a “ministry”

Avoid at all cost

Our family of 7 joined in 2010, and never looked back. I am an insurance analyst. The owners of the agency I worked for looked over a SMI packet one weekend. The following Monday, both called it ‘genius.’ We’ve had over a dozen ‘events’ (claims), a couple running into tens of thousands of dollars. We have had nothing but help from SMI. We have never paid a co-pay, co-insurance, an out of network deductible or an in network deductible. Because cash is king, and we are offered deep discounts by our doctors who we choose without need of a referral, it just WORKS. Group members are motivated to seek discounts, because those are applied to our first $300 responsibility (which we have never had to pay, thanks to discounts!) Which keeps costs low for our entire community, and our doctors happy – because they can treat us any way they see fit, without carrier involvement and coding. My only regret is joining AFTER paying out of pocket for the privilege of home birthing 4 of our children, not covered by insurance. Because it’s fully covered with SMI. Join while you are healthy. Like traditional (affordable) insurance, cost shares are based on younger members paying their share, because their needs will be fully met when they arise, too. (Don’t wait to smell smoke to buy fire insurance, either.)

First, although your website required I evaluate Samaritan Ministries via the stars, I will not start my membership until 12/1/2017, so my review lacks personal experience. However, my own extensive research on sharing ministries in general and Samaritan Ministries in particular, as part of making my decision whether to join, provided the information for my Comment as follows: I’m afraid your understanding of the Save-to-Share funding process is in error, leading to your significant overstatement of a member’s monthly cost. If you’ll double-check their website, you’ll see that the Save-to-Share is not $133/month. It is $133/YEAR. You send your monthly share of (for an individual) $220 per month to the member whose need is being shared. And upon occasion, not every month, Samaritan Ministries will ask you to send a portion of the $133 which you will have set aside once for the year, to help cover someone’s large expense. If they “use up” all your $133, they won’t ask for more from you for the Save-to-Share needs until the next year, when you will set aside another $133. The members may vote to increase this $133 annual amount, just as they may vote to increase the monthly amount (e.g. the individual’s $220.). Samaritan Ministries will also REDUCE the monthly cost if there have been insufficient needs over a period of time to require that full cost. I hope this helps.