What It Actually Looks Like to Use Samaritan Ministries

Several years ago, our family made the switch from traditional health insurance to Samaritan Ministries.

At first, I’ll admit that it felt a little uncertain to be officially considered “uninsured.” I understood the basic idea of health care sharing, but I wasn’t entirely sure what it would look like when we actually needed medical care. Would it be complicated? Would I know what to do? How would we pay our doctors? And how would the sharing process actually work?

But Samaritan Ministries is one of those changes we made years ago that we are still so thankful we made.

We actually joined before we had any kids, which means all three of our babies were born while we were Samaritan Ministries members. We’ve used it through pregnancies, births, illnesses, injuries, and most recently, a broken arm this summer.

So, if you’re considering Samaritan Ministries but wondering what it actually looks like behind the scenes, I thought I’d walk you through the process our family has experienced.

First, what happens every month?

One of my favorite things about Samaritan Ministries is that your monthly share isn’t simply disappearing into a large insurance company.

Each month, Samaritan Ministries assigns our family a share that goes directly to another member who has a medical need.

We receive an email letting us know that our share has been assigned, and then we log into our Samaritan Ministries account. From there, we can either get the member’s address and mail a paper check or, when available, send our share electronically.

There is also an opportunity to send a note of prayer or encouragement to the person receiving your share.

I love this part.

There is something incredibly tangible about knowing that the money we are sending each month is going directly to another believer who is walking through a medical need. We aren’t just paying a bill—we are helping bear someone else’s burden.

And then, when our family has a medical need, other Samaritan members do the same for us.

So what happens when you need medical care?

This was probably my biggest question when we first joined. What do I actually do when someone gets sick or hurt?

Here’s what the process has looked like for us.

1. We go to the medical provider of our choice.

When we have a medical need, we make an appointment with the doctor or provider we want to see.

For example, when Elliot broke her arm this summer, we went in for the medical care she needed and let the providers know that we were cash-pay patients.

Under our Samaritan Ministries membership, routine preventive appointments are not shareable, but eligible medical needs can be submitted to Samaritan for sharing according to the ministry’s guidelines.

2. We ask about cash-pay discounts.

This has been one of the unexpected benefits of being Samaritan members.

Because we are paying our providers directly rather than billing traditional insurance, we can ask whether they offer a discount for cash-pay or self-pay patients.

Not every provider does, of course, but we have found it consistently worthwhile to ask. In some situations, we have been able to negotiate significantly lower medical bills simply because we are paying directly.

3. We open a new medical need with Samaritan Ministries.

Next, we log into our Samaritan Ministries portal and open a new need.

We provide information about what happened, the medical care we are receiving, and the expenses associated with it. Samaritan Ministries then reviews the need according to its membership guidelines and lets us know which expenses are eligible to be shared.

Once the need is opened, everything related to it lives in one place in our online account.

4. We upload our medical bills.

As bills and invoices come in from doctors, hospitals, labs, or other providers, we pay the providers directly and upload the bills to our Samaritan Ministries account.

This is another part of the process that initially sounded more complicated to me than it has actually been. The portal gives us a clear place to keep track of the need and submit the documentation Samaritan requires.

5. Other members send their shares to us.

This is where the whole model comes full circle! Just as we send our monthly share to another family when they have a medical need, Samaritan assigns other members to send shares to us when we have an eligible need.

Our account gives us a checklist showing the members who have been assigned to share toward our medical expenses. As their checks or electronic payments arrive, we can mark them as received so Samaritan knows those shares have been completed.

And that’s really the process! We receive medical care. We pay our providers. We submit eligible expenses to Samaritan Ministries. And other members share toward those expenses just as we have shared toward theirs.

The part I didn’t expect to appreciate so much

Before joining Samaritan Ministries, I mostly thought about health care sharing in practical terms: What will it cost? How will it work? What happens if we have a baby or a major medical expense?

Those questions mattered, and I’m glad I asked them.

But what I didn’t anticipate was how much I would appreciate the ministry part of Samaritan Ministries.

There is something different about receiving a check from another family—sometimes with a handwritten note letting you know they are praying for you—when you’re walking through a medical need.

Likewise, there is something meaningful about writing a note to another family and knowing that our monthly share is helping them pay for the care they need.

It has made something as ordinary as paying medical expenses feel surprisingly personal.

If you’re considering Samaritan Ministries…

I would highly recommend giving them a call.

Their customer service has been one of the things I’ve appreciated most throughout our years as members. When I have called with specific questions, I haven’t felt like I was getting the runaround. I’ve been able to talk with someone who understands the process and can explain what our membership guidelines mean for a particular situation.

That was especially helpful when we were first considering joining. I wanted to understand what this decision would actually mean for our family—not just in theory, but in real life.

Years later, after three babies and plenty of trips to doctors along the way, I’m thankful we made the switch.

If you’re considering Samaritan Ministries, my best advice is to check them out for yourself! I am so glad we did. If you have questions, drop them in the comments and I’ll try to answer!