Biblical communityapplied to health care

GLORIFY GOD with your health care.

Bear one another’s burdens,

Health care sharing is simple—Christians praying for, supporting, and encouraging one another as they bear each other’s medical burdens. Samaritan Ministries uses a direct sharing model, meaning members send directly to other members who have medical needs. Samaritan Ministries is a growing Biblical community that has been helping Christians care for one another since 1994.

Galatians 6:2

and so fulfill the law of Christ.

When the Body of Christ comes together to pray, encourage, and provide for one another, burdens are lifted, and God is glorified. This applies to all areas of life, including health care. And because we are Christians helping other Christians, you never have to worry about your health care dollars being used to pay for unbiblical practices. We trust God in all other areas of our lives, so we know we can trust Him with our health care too.

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Every month, each member sends directly to another member with a medical need. When the Grimm family received their monthly share assignment, they saw they would be sharing with the Johnsons for a maternity need. Having recently gone through a maternity need themselves, the Grimm family knew exactly how to pray for and bless the newborn and her family.

The Grimm Family

Watch how the Grimms cared for the Johnson family at: samaritanministries.org/sharing

With a new baby at home, the Johnson family was encouraged by the prayer and Scriptures that came with the financial support for their maternity need. They were especially blessed by the notes and prayers coming from member families who could relate to having a newborn.

The Johnson Family

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3 The Burden is Li�ed

Collect billsfrom your provider

2 The Need is Shared1 Medical Need Begins

Members pray, encourage,& send shares directly to you

Send your bills to Samaritan Ministries

Go to the doctor of your own choice

Samaritan assignsshares to members

You use the moneyto pay your bills

What does sharing look like?Every month, members of Samaritan Ministries give to other members with medical needs. Members pray and send their monthly share, along with notes of encouragement, directly to the member in need. This allows members to minister to all aspects of the need: spiritual, emotional, physical, and financial.

The Samaritan Ministries staff verifies that the need qualifies under the Guidelines, then directs other members to send their shares to the member with the need.

The member in need receives shares from the designated members to help pay their medical bills, along with prayer and notes of encouragement.

1 Medical Need Begins

When a member has a medical need, they receive treatment from the provider of their choice, collect the bills, contact the Samaritan Ministries office to start the need process, and then send us the bills.

Learn more about how sharing works at samaritanministries.org/guidelines

2 The Need is Shared

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“We’re going to give up on this concept of insurance

and trust God and His people?! Yeah, of course! That’s a no-brainer!”

Lana“I’ve had two pregnancies

since being with Samaritan. They both went smoothly, and I

enjoyed getting the letters that came with the shares

from other members.”

Clay & Alison

“It has really blessed us to think of the bigger picture, that we as the Church are taking care of one

another’s needs.”

Tyler & Katie

“I know my family and I are blessed to be a part of a

community that sees one another not as

a number, but as brothers and sisters

in Christ.”

Theodore & Carmela

visit mysamaritanstory.org

“My husband and I look forward to sending our share each month because we know it’s going to directly help

a family or individual during a difficult time in their lives.”

“We are doing something that

is consistent with the Bible, consistent with Scripture—

a body of believers sharing one another’s burdens.”

Arthur & Bonnie

To hear more from other members

Destiny & Chad

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Know Where Your Money Goes As a member of Samaritan Ministries, you can be confident that no money goes towards unbiblical practices such as abortion. Members are also exempt from the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

Members of Samaritan Ministries aren’t restricted to seeing certain doctors or staying within a network. This freedom gives you the opportunity to choose the doctor, hospital, and pharmacy that works best for your family whenever you need medical care.

Samaritan Ministries doesn’t dictate which doctor you see, what treatment is prescribed, or how it is administered. Members may adhere to traditional medicine, or they have the freedom to pursue alternative treatment methods as prescribed by a licensed medical provider.

No Network or PPO Restrictions

To see what kinds of needs members share, see Section VIII of the Guidelines.

Members are cash-pay patients and are billed directly by their provider. Discussing discounts on your medical bills can be beneficial for you and the rest of the membership, and members are encouraged to discuss discounts with their providers. Receiving discounts on medical bills reduces the cost for the entire membership, therefore, lightening the load that members help one another bear.

A Better Health Care Consumer

Know What You’re Paying For Asking your doctor for itemized medical bills can help you understand the exact costs of the treatment options available to you. By knowing what your treatment includes, you can take control of your health care and make more informed decisions regarding your medical care. For more information on itemized bills, please see Section X of the Guidelines.

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Being Member-Led Matters

The members truly make the difference—playing a leading role in where we’ve come from and where we are now. They have a voice in implementing change, starting new ideas, electing Board members, and innovating tools that help shape the ministry. Members make up the Board of Directors, and as such, play a key role in shaping the Guidelines. Because we are member-led, we all work together to make the ministry function efficiently so that we can steward the resources God has entrusted to us.

Online ToolsSamaritan Ministries members have access to online tools that can help with choosing a provider, pricing medical procedures, and getting online medical advice.

Access thePrayer Guide

Start yourNeeds

WatchVideos

View yourShares

Save withHealth Resources

Read theNewsletter

Manage yourMembership

Update yourChecklist

Connect withOther Members

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Stewarding Our Resources

For example, if a member is sharing a $1000 need in a month where needs are prorated at 80 percent, that member will receive $800 from other members, so that the remaining $200 can go to another member’s need. The month following a proration, if there is extra share money available, the remaining amount can be used to help with the previous month’s needs. If needs are prorated for three months in a row, members are asked to vote on a new, larger share amount. Members can vote in favor of increasing the share amount, or keep it the same, with the understanding that prorating may need to continue. In order for a share increase to be implemented, 60 percent of the votes must be in favor of the increase.

For more details on how shares and needs are balanced, see Section VI.D of the ministry Guidelines.

Shares Needs

When the money needed for medical needs is more than the share money available, that month’s needs may be prorated. Prorating is a way for us to share the greatest amount of needs possible without having to raise share amounts or leave some needs unshared.

There is a maximum shareable amount of $250,000 ($236,500 for Samaritan Basic) for each medical need, unless the member is enrolled in Save to Share™. Members who are enrolled in Save to Share™ commit to saving a designated amount each year to be used when needs greater than $250,000 arise. Save to Share™ members will then be called upon to use this special savings when there is a need above $250,000.

Save to Share™

Occasionally, members have a need that can’t be shared because it doesn’t qualify under the Guidelines. These include dental or vision procedures, preventative care, or pre-existing conditions.

Members are encouraged to pray for and freely donate towards these Special Prayer Needs that God may impress upon them, or strike them as uniquely relatable.

Special Prayer Needs are highlighted alongside monthly share assignments, and members have generously and prayerfully supported one another through this program.

Special Prayer Needs

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BASIC

30-44 45-59 60+

2 Person $200 $240 $280 $320

1 Person

Membership SizeAge of oldest member

3+ Person $250 $300 $350 $400

≤ 29

$100 $120 $140 $160

Monthly Share

3+ Person

1 Person $220

2 Person $440

$495

CLASSIC

Individual ≤ Age 29 $160

Widowed/Divorced & Children $305

Monthly Share

3+ Person

1 Person $133

2 Person $266

$399

$266Widowed/Divorced & ChildrenSave to Share™Annual Deposit

Share amounts Administrative CostsTo begin membership, applicants may mail in a paper application or fill out an application form online. Additionally, there is an initial start-up administrative fee of $200 due with the application. The start-up administrative fee is non-refundable.

For the first two or three months, new members send their shares to Samaritan Ministries’ office to pay the start-up costs of their membership.

Thereafter, every Samaritan household sends their share amount one month each year to the Samaritan office.

Beyond this, you will be sharing directly with other member households on a monthly basis.

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“Being a part of Samaritan makes me more thankful for the Church and excited to see it working the way it is supposed to work in all other areas as well.”

Joshua

As the cost of health care rises, members of Samaritan Ministries are choosing to put their trust in God and His Church when it comes to their health care needs. Members come from many Church denominations and span the globe, uniting as one Body to meet the physical, spiritual, and financial aspects of the medical needs of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

We are a Body of believers in Jesus Christ who are ministering to one another on a broad scale, applying the concepts of the New Testament Church to health care as an extension of the Church.

Come be a part of this ministry as we worship God with our health care!

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

1 Corinthians 12:12

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877.764.2426

For more information, visit:

samaritanministries.orgRead our ministry Guidelines at samaritanministries.org/guidelines