Release 2

Coming this fall, new health care savings resources administered by New Benefits will be available to you. As part of your Samaritan membership, you will have access to the New Benefits Complete package, which is included with your Samaritan membership:

• Telemedicine available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your cost will be only $38 per visit.
• Savings at thousands of health care locations nationwide:
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Chiropractic
  • Lab
  • Imaging and testing
• Discounted diabetic supplies, brand-name hearing aids, and durable medical equipment.
• Prescription savings at participating retail pharmacies.

In addition, you will have the option of subscribing to New Benefits Plus for $9.95 per month for your household. Included with this package:

• Short-term counseling sessions – six included sessions per issue, per year.
• Savings on alternative medicines and treatments at participating providers.
• Access to Doctors Online, an email question-and-answer service.

Not every provider participates with New Benefits, and different providers have different types of discounts. New Benefits is not available to residents of the State of Washington because of current health regulations in this state.

Once we implement this new health care resource, you will be able to access New Benefits through your Dashboard.

No. These are non-insurance benefits. New Benefits has negotiated discounts with various providers and also offers virtual doctor or nurse visits at discounted rates. Because you are a member of Samaritan Ministries, later this fall, you will have access to these discounts!

Coming soon, you will be able to access New Benefits through your Dashboard in the Health Resources section. You will need to sign up as a Samaritan member.

In addition, you will have the option of downloading a New Benefits mobile app (though this is not required). New Benefits will send you a Welcome email that will provide instructions for downloading their app, which will give you access to telemedicine and electronic savings cards. Stay tuned for more information!

New Benefits will have savings cards for each category of provider, available upon request—categories such as vision, dental, or prescriptions. You will present the appropriate card at a participating provider to receive that provider’s discount. The cards can be electronic (available through your Dashboard or through an optional New Benefits mobile app) or you can request physical cards from New Benefits.

No. When you go to a provider that participates in New Benefits, all you will need is the savings card from New Benefits. Cards for the different categories of discounts can be electronic (available through your Dashboard or an optional New Benefits mobile app), or you can request physical cards from New Benefits.

Yes! Many members let us know they wanted to find ways to save on their unshareable medical expenses, like vision and dental. This is one very big reason we are partnering with New Benefits. Because you have a membership with Samaritan, you will have access to several types of discounts through New Benefits.

In addition, you can use the telemedicine resource even if your medical issue is not shareable, and the telemedicine session costs the same amount whether or not the condition is shareable.

Both the New Benefits discount and any cash-pay discounts will vary depending on the provider. If you would like to know which discount would be greater, check with the provider. Please note if your provider participates with New Benefits, you have the option of presenting a New Benefits savings card, but you would also let the provider know you are a cash-pay patient.

Whether you get the Samaritan fair-price reward is going to depend on the situation:

• On a shareable medical procedure, any time you get the fair price as shown in Healthcare Bluebook, you can get the Samaritan fair-price reward. Simply show us that the price you got is the same as or less than the price shown in Healthcare Bluebook. For detailed information, see the Samaritan fair-price reward information page.
• If the provider you are seeing does not have a fair price according to Healthcare Bluebook, the discount you get through New Benefits might get you the fair price, if the procedure is shareable. Find out what the provider’s discounted price is. If it is the same as or lower than the fair price listed in Healthcare Bluebook, you can get the Samaritan fair-price reward.
• If the provider offers the New Benefits discount, but that still doesn’t get you the fair price, let the provider know what the fair price for the service is according to Healthcare Bluebook. The provider may negotiate with you.

For members in Classic, no. Discounts do not offset the IUA in Classic.

For members in Basic, yes. Any discount you receive on a shareable medical procedure will offset your IUA dollar for dollar, whether you obtain the discount through New Benefits or obtain simply a regular cash-pay discount.

Whether you are in Classic or Basic, remember to check with your provider for a cash-pay discount, then check to see what the New Benefits discount is.

No. New Benefits provides Samaritan members discounts with some providers. Healthcare Bluebook is a resource that shows you what the fair price for a medical service would be and can help you locate providers that will give you that fair price.

Some of the providers listed in Healthcare Bluebook may be part of the New Benefits discount offerings, but not all of them will be.