I don’t often talk about our company, The Karis Group, but with the deadlines on health insurance looming and the state pools opening in a month, I’d like to present another option.
Christian healthcare sharing programs have been around for a long time–our company has been negotiating bills for them for more than 15 years, so we’re very familiar with how well they work. We personally use them to pay for any health needs we might have. And what’s even better, their members are automatically exempted from any of the penalties within the Affordable Care Act.
This is how they work. Based on Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens,” each month, we send a contribution to a family with medical needs. No huge deductibles (just $300 per incident), no co-pays, no having to stay within network. Our daughter, who has a C-section due next Tuesday, has had all her bills for the pregnancy (except for the $300) paid by other members of the program. Compare this to her last pregnancy when she and her husband had traditional insurance and had to pay more than $3,000 in out-0f-pocket expenses.
The Karis Group has taken the largest of these healthcare sharing organizations, Samaritan Ministries, and we’ve added a number of other benefits (like discounts on dental, pharmacy, 24 hour phone access to a physician, etc) to form an entity called The Health Co-op. Most families can cut their health insurance costs by at least 50%. We’re excited about the potential of not just families, but Christian organizations and businesses being able to save hugely on their insurance costs and having more money available for use in the Kingdom.
Check us out at thehealthcoop.com.