What is Samaritan Ministries' philosophy of health care?
Is Samaritan Ministries some kind of Christian health insurance?
Why don't you use insurance?
Do you have premiums?
If the share money is only sent to other members, how are the office operations paid for?
How are claims handled?
Do you have a deductible?
What happens if there are more medical needs than shares?
What kind of requirements do members have to meet?
How much does it really cost to belong to Samaritan Ministries?
What is the highest dollar amount Samaritan Ministries will "publish"?
What kinds of needs does Samaritan Ministries publish?
What kinds of needs does Samaritan Ministries not publish?
What amounts are published for maternity needs?
How do I know if a need qualifies for publication?
What is SamaritanMV™?
How will I pay my bills when I have a need?
How long does it take to have a medical need published in the newsletter?
What if I have a need and someone doesn't follow through and send their share?
How many people are members of Samaritan Ministries' Christian Health Care Newsletter?
Can overseas missionaries be members?
Do you have a death provision?
When did this ministry begin?
Can you provide any references for your ministry?
This sounds too good to be true! Does this really work?
Is this really legal?

What is Samaritan Ministries' philosophy of health care?
We believe Jesus Christ is the Ultimate Provider for all of life’s needs. Individuals and families have the primary responsibility for their own health and decisions related to seeking health care. When they have burdens that are greater than they can bear, we firmly believe that the body of Christ, at the local church level first, and then in a broad corporate sense, should bear one another’s burdens to fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
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Is Samaritan Ministries some kind of Christian health insurance?
No. Insurance is usually thought of as a contract whereby one party agrees to be legally responsible for and accept another party’s risk of loss, in exchange for a payment called a premium. Samaritan Ministries is an arrangement whereby Christians share to assist one another with medical expenses through voluntary giving. We are not licensed or registered by any insurance board or department, since we are not practicing the business of insurance. We do not assess applicants’ health risks, because neither the ministry nor the members are assuming financial liability for any other member’s risk. Unlike insurance, the focus of Samaritan Ministries’ need sharing is not on what you can receive financially if you have a need, but on how you can help others with the needs they have right now (Acts 20:35).
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Why don't you use insurance?
When health care costs are paid by someone other than the person receiving care, typically an insurance company or the government, the Biblical model outlined in question 1 can be undermined. We believe many of the current problems with the health care system are the direct result of restricting personal freedom and responsibility through dependence on third-party payers. Samaritan Ministries is designed to allow Christians to help one another while maintaining personal responsibility.
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Do you have premiums?
As stated in the answer to question 2, Samaritan Ministries is not an insurance company, so we have no premiums. Insurance companies collect premiums that they keep until the money is needed for claims. From these funds they also pay all salaries and other operating expenses, build office buildings, pay executive bonuses and dividends, etc. Policy holders must sort through company reports to know how much of their money actually goes to pay for medical treatments. Members of Samaritan Ministries retain possession of their money until it is needed. Then they are assigned a monthly share that they send, not to the ministry, but directly to another member who has a qualified medical need. They know how much of their money is going for medical needs from the moment they put their share in the mail.
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If the share money is only sent to other members, how are the office operations paid for?
When someone joins Samaritan Ministries, they are asked to send an administrative fee and the monthly share for their first three months to the Samaritan office. After that, only the administrative fee is sent to the office once each year. Samaritan members can always know how much of their money is being used for administrative costs and how much goes for actual medical needs. A financial audit of ministry operations is conducted by an outside, independent C.P.A. each year to maintain integrity in how administrative money is handled.
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How are claims handled?
As explained in the answer to question 2, one reason Samaritan Ministries is not an insurance company is that there is no transfer of risk. This means that when a member receives medical care, there is no claim that is owed. There is simply a medical need. Samaritan members send proof of their medical expenses to the Samaritan Ministries office where they are evaluated according to the Guidelines, to make sure they qualify for publication. Then the qualified needs are published in a monthly newsletter mailing where each active member is asked to share in another member’s medical need. Again, this giving is voluntary and does not involve any legal obligation (claim) on the ministry or the other members.
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Do you have a deductible?
The concept of a deductible indicates that there are some amounts for which you are responsible, and some amounts for which an insurance company is responsible. In a sharing ministry each member is always responsible for his own medical expenses. Once again, Samaritan Ministries does not offer insurance, so our procedures are different. At Samaritan, a medical need involving less than $300 is not considered publishable. When the need goes over $300, the amount from $300 to $100,000 is publishable. (The amount of a need that exceeds $100,000 can be eligible for sharing if the member also joins Samaritans’ Save to Share™.) If a member household has more than three publishable needs in any 12 month period, the first $300 is also published for the fourth, and any subsequent needs in that period.
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What happens if there are more medical needs than shares?
Sometimes we can overlap needs from two months so that there is enough money for all the needs. However, if all needs cannot be met, we use a prorating method to evenly distribute the burden. For example, if there is only enough share money for 90 percent of the needs submitted for a particular month, only 90 percent of each need would be published. See Section VI:E of the Guidelines, “Balancing Needs and Shares/Proration” for more details.
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What kind of requirements do members have to meet?
Members must be professing Christians who attend church regularly. They must agree to abstain from sinful practices such as drug abuse and sexual immorality. They must be accountable to a pastor or other church leader for the needs they submit. For a detailed statement of requirements, consult Section I in the Guidelines.
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How much does it really cost to belong to Samaritan Ministries?
Each member household pays an annual $170 membership fee. Also, each month every member sends a monthly share to another member. Currently, a single member shares $120; a couple (two family members) shares $240; a single-parent family (widowed, divorced) with children shares $172; and a family (two adults and one or more children) shares $285. A sponsorship program exists to provide for those whose financial situation might otherwise hinder their ability to participate. See Section V.C. in the Guidelines for more details.
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What is the highest dollar amount Samaritan Ministries will "publish"?
The maximum publishable amount for each need is $100,000. The need has to meet the Guidelines before it can be published. SMI members are also eligible to participate in another sharing ministry, Save to Share™ , where the rest of needs over $100,000 may be shared.
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What kinds of needs does Samaritan Ministries publish?
In general, needs for illnesses or injuries resulting in visits to medical doctors, emergency rooms, testing facilities, or hospitals are publishable on a per person per incident basis. See Sections VI-IX of the Guidelines for more details.
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What kinds of needs does Samaritan Ministries not publish?
We don’t publish needs for conditions that exist prior to membership and have never been cured, or for most congenital conditions. Needs for injuries from accidents involving licensed motor vehicles are only publishable for members who also join SamaritanMV™. Also, the amount of maternity needs we publish has specific limits.
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What amounts are published for maternity needs?
For the first 18 months of membership, the amount that a member is eligible to have published as a maternity need will be no less than the total amount the member has sent in monthly shares since the beginning of the membership. See Section IX of the Guidelines for more details.
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How do I know if a need qualifies for publication?
The types of needs that qualify for publication can be found in the Guidelines. Consult Section X to familiarize yourself with the general procedures for submitting your need and Sections VI-IX for the specific requirements for publishing certain types of needs. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call your Member Services Team at 877-764-2426.
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What is SamaritanMV™?
SamaritanMV™ is a separate, optional sharing ministry that members can join if they would like to share in licensed motor vehicle related needs. See the SamaritanMV™ Guidelines for more information.
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How will I pay my bills when I have a need?
You explain to your care providers (doctors, hospitals, etc.) that you do not have insurance and that you are a self-pay patient. The providers send their bills directly to you. You organize the bills, complete a Need Processing Form, and submit them to Samaritan Ministries. We will publish your need in our newsletter mailing, and the members assigned to your need will be asked to send their monthly shares directly to you through the mail. You then use the money you receive to pay your bills.
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How long does it take to have a medical need published in the newsletter?
The publishing turn-around time is normally 30-60 days from receipt of your bills and required information. If your Need Processing Form is correct and complete, your need will be published at the beginning of the second month after we receive your need. For example, a need received by the end of September would be processed in October and published at the beginning of November.
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What if I have a need and someone doesn't follow through and send their share?
We’ll send you a checklist so that you can keep track of who was assigned to send to your need. If we learn that someone on your list has stopped sharing as an active member and will not be sending to you, that amount will be reassigned in the following month to a member who is actively sharing. Members who are not actively sharing in the needs of other members will not be eligible to have their own needs published.
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How many people are members of Samaritan Ministries' Christian Health Care Newsletter?
As of October 2007, we have more than 12,400 households.
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Can overseas missionaries be members?
Yes, and we currently have missionary members from all over the world. We request that missionaries have a state-side contact to receive the monthly newsletter and to send out their monthly share.
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Do you have a death provision?
No, we have chosen not to have any sharing provision for deaths.
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When did this ministry begin?
We incorporated as an Illinois not-for-profit organization in September 1991. The next three years were dedicated to research and development. We have been actively sharing needs since September 1994.
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Can you provide any references for your ministry?
If you call 1-888-268-4377 we will attempt to provide names and numbers of members in your area who have had a need published.
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This sounds too good to be true! Does this really work?
Members of Samaritan Ministries have been sharing needs since 1994, and they have seen God provide not only for financial needs, but also for physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Even though this is true, we are required to warn you that the past performance of SMI members assisting one another is not:
1. A promise/contract by SMI or its members that SMI or the members will contribute toward a need you might have in the future;
2. In the eyes of the law any indication of whether our members actually would contribute toward a need you might have in the future.
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Is this really legal?
Samaritan Ministries’ Christian Health Care Newsletter is a Christian health care sharing ministry and is not restricted from operating in any of the fifty United States, any U.S. territory, or any foreign country, and has no legal barriers of which we are aware.
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Please remember, Christian Health Care Newsletter is not an insurance company. As you read through these materials, keep in mind that we are not registered or licensed by any insurance board since we are not practicing the business of insurance. We collect no premiums, take no risks, nor do we promise anything in return other than to publish a monthly newsletter which will suggest a need for you to share emotionally, spiritually and financially in the burdens of other members. If our concept expresses the way you would like to practice your Christian convictions, we hope you will join us.