Peoria, Ill.-based Samaritan Ministries International, a Christian healthcare cost-sharing ministry, has more than 221,000 members partaking in cost-sharing initiatives to help individuals with healthcare expenses.
Here are four things to know about Samaritan's cost-sharing approach.
1. Nonprofit ministries like Samaritan have been around for decades, but interest in them piqued since the ACA passed in 2010, largely because the ACA does not require ministry members to have health insurance or pay a fine.
2. Samaritan assigns member families to help pay the medical bills of other members, and money is mailed directly to the families who need it, according to a company release.
3. Under the approach, a family of any size pays a $495 monthly share directly to other households. The monthly share for individuals is $220 and the monthly share for couples is $440. Members also pray for one another and send notes and cards when they send their monthly financial shares to other households.
4. Samaritan members share more than $23 million each month, according to the release. Every month there is a fixed amount of shares available from members that are allocated to in need members. The amount available may fluctuate and be more or less than the shares available.