Health sharing, also known as healthcare sharing ministries, is a viable and popular  alternative to traditional health insurance and short-term limited duration health insurance.

Health sharing plans are not insurance. Instead, health sharing ministries are non-profit associations of like-minded individuals who agree to help share the healthcare costs of fellow plan members.

Advantages of Health Sharing Plans

Advantages of health sharing include:

• Shared Responsibility: Members contribute to a shared pool to cover each other’s medical expenses.
• Flexibility: Healthsharing plans often have broader coverage, including pre-existing conditions and certain preventive care services.
• Spiritual or Ethical Alignment: Health sharing ministries often align with specific religious or ethical beliefs, providing a sense of community and shared values.

Health share plans are typically available at just a fraction of the cost of an unsubsidized traditional health insurance policy. Moreover, healthshare plans don’t have limited enrollment periods. You can enroll in a health sharing plan at any time during the year.

However, health sharing plans may impose a  waiting period if you have pre-existing conditions. They may limit sharing of costs related to treating your pre-existing conditions and related complications for a period of time.

Nevertheless, if you missed open enrollment period and you need to get something in place now to protect you against the high cost of unexpected medical bills, health sharing plans will still help pay for qualified medical expenses that are not related to your pre-existing condition.

That can help you reduce your risk substantially while you wait for Open Enrollment and for your new plan to be effective on January 1st.

If you don’t have pre-existing conditions, health sharing plans can be a much more affordable permanent solution than traditional health insurance. And if you do have pre-existing conditions that require ongoing treatment, health sharing can be a great “bridge” to tide you over until you can get a traditional health insurance policy in place that will provide coverage of your pre-existing conditions from Day One, with no waiting period.