On my medical freedom journey, it has become clear to me just how much the health insurance industry contributes to our lack of freedom when it comes to getting proper treatment. If you have traditional insurance, you are often limited in which providers you can see and sometimes have to wait with bated breath to see if they will cover important procedures or treatments. The financial burden is also quite out of hand. When my husband and I made the decision to switch from private insurance in 2016, our monthly premium was about $1200 for just the two of us. For catastrophic insurance! Meaning that on top of those outrageous premiums, we also had to meet a high deductible before anything would be covered at all.
Switching to Christian Healthcare Ministries was one of the best decisions we have ever made. Since we joined, I have had four babies, and when all was said and done, every penny that we were billed was reimbursed.
If you are looking for an alternative to traditional health insurance, I cannot recommend Christian Healthcare Ministries more highly and would love to share with you what my family loves most about it.
1. Members are more than just a number.
If you have any need to interact with CHM staff, it is abundantly clear that they truly care about their members. I actually had the privilege of meeting several staff members in person as they asked me to provide a video testimonial for their website. Each one of them was kind and passionate about the ministry. They even informed me that each week the employees attend chapel and that part of the service includes praying for specific members. How cool is that?!
During my most recent pregnancy, I called with questions about how to navigate seeing a provider three hours from my hometown who was more VBAC supportive than anyone I could find locally. If you would like more details about why I made this decision, you can read about my birth story here. I was stunned a few weeks later when I received a card in the mail from the woman I talked to on the phone. Read for yourself what she sent me and see just how wonderful the staff at CHM is.
2. Personal responsibility
I truly believe that one of the reasons that healthcare costs are skyrocketing is because not many people even know what something will cost before the procedure takes place as everything is processed through insurance. I love that CHM encourages their members to shop around and negotiate with the provider for discounts. Having to pay upfront also encourages you to evaluate each medical decision (obviously aside from an emergency) to determine if it is necessary. If you are a hypochondriac, this is not the program for you! :) But in all seriousness, I do often wonder how many doctor’s visits are truly needed, and I love that CHM’s process will likely result in every medical decision being a wise one.
3. Prayer page
Each month, CHM sends a card with the billing statement that includes the name, address, and medical condition of a fellow member who has requested prayer. Other members can send words of encouragement if they choose. I have sent a few cards throughout the years, and I love that I get a small glimpse into where the dollars I send each month are going and can pray specifically for someone.
Obviously, CHM cannot cover preexisting conditions as that would be financially insolvent, but one of my favorite things that they do is their prayer page. It provides a way for members with qualifying preexisting conditions to get their bills paid. Each month, other members can donate extra money that is allocated to the members on the prayer page to pay off their outstanding bills. CHM even lets members know how much each member would need to contribute to pay off every outstanding debt. The amount is usually under $15, and it amazes me to see how little it takes to support and take care of one another when we all work together.
If you decide that CHM is the right move for your family, click on the link below.
You can request more information, or sign up right away if you have already done your research.
Full disclosure: Signing up through that link will allow me to earn points that can result in my monthly gift being waived. For any month that my monthly gift is waived, I will pay it forward and donate the freed-up money to the prayer page.
Comments