As we evaluate how to best steward and support members’ ministry to one another, we turn to the Lord for guidance and wisdom. We are making these changes with a resolve to do what we believe ultimately will be best to serve all members.

The program changes are motivated by three main reasons:

• The cost of medical care. We must revise the Guidelines to keep up with the changing landscape of medical cost changes, while also keeping Samaritan an affordable option for Christians who want to share burdens.
• Member preferences. After conducting research with Samaritan members, we are responding to members’ feedback with solutions that will meet the most needs and provide the options most members want.
• Greater ministry opportunity. Our mission is to enable Christians to minister to one another and to grow disciples for the glory of God. We want Samaritan to be the best option for Christian health care so that each member can have more ministry opportunities for their fellow believers.

We are blessed to support the ministry that all Samaritan members carry out toward one another daily, and we are grateful to God for His provision over the past 30 years. We trust that with the Lord’s help we can continue to serve one another for many more years to come.

While we cannot guarantee we will never prorate, we believe these changes will keep proration at a minimum. One goal of the changes is to make the sharing process as predictable and steady as possible.

Current

PROPOSED

Current

NEW SHARE AMOUNTS, EFFECTIVE WITH AUGUST SHARES

Health care costs steadily climb, and in Samaritan Classic, there are more eligible bills being submitted than Shares available. We are seeking to glorify God with our health care by bearing one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). As health care expenses rise, Share amounts must also regularly increase so that this community can continue to bear those burdens

While it has not yet been necessary for Needs in Samaritan Basic to be prorated, trends show that Need costs continue to rise. To delay, or prevent, proration in Basic, a Share increase is being proposed for this sharing program, as well.

No other health care sharing ministry allows member voting on Share increases, but the founders of Samaritan Ministries believed it was particularly important to have direct member involvement in the ministry. Members send Shares directly to one another. Members also directly control the makeup of the Board of Directors, which proposes Share increases.

Voting will be open from May 28 to June 4, 5 p.m., Central Time. In recent months, there have been more eligible bills submitted in Classic than Shares available. As a result, Needs were prorated in January, March, and April. We have carefully monitored bill submission trends, and the data strongly indicates a Share increase is needed to avoid further proration, so members’ Needs can be shared in full.

To proactively avoid or delay proration in Samaritan Basic, the Board of Directors is proposing a Share increase in both programs.

To reduce mailing expenses, allow for more notice to members before new Share amounts go into effect, and, hopefully, increase member participation, voting will be conducted using a unique link sent to the email addresses members use to sign in to the Dashboard. Members who do not currently have a Dashboard account can contact Samaritan, and our Technical Support team can help you sign up on Dashboard.

The Board of Directors is proactively proposing a Share increase in Samaritan Basic to keep up with increased medical costs and, by extension, significantly reduce the possibility of proration in Basic. The ministry Guidelines allow the Board to propose Share increases when it is deemed necessary, even when proration has not occurred (Guidelines IV.A.2.).

Proration is a process we use when a month has more eligible bills than Shares available to pay for them. In such a scenario, we are unable to share all bills in full (at 100 percent of their total eligible dollar amount), as there are not enough Shares to assign to those bills. As a result, we reduce what is shared to the amount of funds that the community has available. This reduction is spread equally across all bills.

As an example, if there are $10 million in eligible bills but only $9.8 million in Shares, then those bills would be shared at 98 percent (a 2 percent proration). Proration is one indication that a Share increase is needed to account for rising costs. For more information, please see our proration FAQ page.

No. Share increase votes do not impact the IUA. The IUA is set separately by the member-elected Board of Directors.

Samaritan trusts that members are making thoughtful decisions when it comes to seeking medical care, which includes taking provider-prescribed medications. While prescription drug prices fluctuate with inflation, supply chain issues, the U.S. regulatory environment, and many other factors, pharmaceutical costs are not driving Share increases. Our Guidelines (Guidelines VIII.B.28.) limit the sharing of prescriptions, mitigating the risk of prescription expenses expanding beyond what the membership can bear.

Classic has had more eligible bills than available Shares intermittently in 2024. In January, March, and April, Needs in Classic were prorated. Because of increased bill submissions in Classic—and to proactively reduce the possibility of proration in Basic—the Board of Directors has recommended Share increases for both programs.

Although every Samaritan member participates in either Samaritan Classic or Samaritan Basic, we are first and foremost members of Samaritan Ministries. We’re a community that cares for one another in Jesus’ name, regardless of which sharing program we each select.

This means that we still share medical bills between programs. After all, we are all members of one community: Samaritan Ministries. This has been the ministry’s philosophy and practice since Samaritan Basic was introduced in 2017. However, no program has ever had a Share increase in order to support another program.

No. Share amounts are based upon the bills members submit and the Shares they contribute, not upon administrative financials.

The administrative expense budget is prepared by management to meet the needs of the members, and it is approved by the member-led Board. In addition, there is an independent audit of revenues and expenditures performed each year and reported to the Board for financial accountability. For more information, please read about our Best Practices and Commitment to Sustainability and Transparency.

Several increase options, including monthly Share amounts and changes to the IUA, are considered by the Board of Directors. Proposed Share increase amounts are based on the trend of bill submissions by members and broader medical spending projections. The Board prayerfully considers and chooses the option that available data suggests will allow the Samaritan community to meet one another’s health care burdens for another year as costs continue rising.

When preparing a Share increase proposal and finalizing suggested Share amount increases, Samaritan staff carefully review a variety of factors for each membership group. One such factor is the historical and forecasted Needs and bill submissions for each age group and household size. The new Share amounts reflect the findings of this review.

The Board is thoughtful and intentional when proposing new Share amounts. Before finalizing proposed Share increase amounts, Samaritan staff review each membership group using several factors to determine an appropriate Share amount change. One such factor is the historical and forecasted Needs and bill submissions for each age group and household size. The new Share amounts reflect the findings of this review. Ultimately, our goal is to balance each member’s personal responsibility with our mission to enable the body of Christ to bear one another’s burdens.

The short answer is that members of Samaritan Ministries are subject to the same increases in health care costs as everyone else. Share amounts must regularly increase so that this community can bear members’ medical burdens as health care costs rise.

We encourage every Samaritan member to be actively engaged in their health care decisions, utilizing resources like Healthcare Bluebook to review providers and procedures. Engaged health care patients seek quality care at a fair price.

While we cannot know the future, the Lord does, and we are called to trust and obey Him, casting all our cares upon Him. As we walk humbly before Him, we also prayerfully study trends and make recommendations that we believe necessary.

If bill submissions exceed Shares at any point in the coming year, proration could occur, and the membership would again vote on a Share increase proposal. Cost containment efforts we started implementing more than three years ago are now saving the membership millions of dollars additionally each year in additional savings, and we will continue to advance solutions to best help the membership steward resources.

One way to help contain costs is to ensure you are getting a fair price before receiving care. Obtaining a discount from your medical provider is also essential to cost containment. Log into your Dashboard account and browse Healthcare Bluebook before you see a provider when possible. The fair-price reward continues to be an option that incentivizes members to use Healthcare Bluebook on Dashboard to find a fair-price facility when they have a medical procedure.

The best thing all of us can do is be engaged health care patients who stay informed on ways to promote their health and wellness and who use resources (like Healthcare Bluebook on our member Dashboard) to choose providers who offer quality care at a fair price.

We believe members are doing their best to stay healthy and avoid submitting unnecessary Needs, and they are working hard to steward resources well when they have a Need. The monthly Share amounts continue to be much lower than the premiums most consumers pay for insurance policies, which often have high deductibles and co-pays.

Samaritan members approach their health care with an attitude of stewardship, but as health care spending continues to increase, members still often end up paying more than they would have in previous years for the very same service―even after diligently working to get a fair price. The best way to help contain costs is to browse Healthcare Bluebook on Dashboard before seeing a provider. Members can also receive a fair-price reward for demonstrating they chose a Healthcare Bluebook fair-price provider.

There is often a wide variance in price—even up to tens of thousands of dollars—for the same procedure from different providers. Plus, higher prices are not an indicator of quality care, nor do they suggest the likelihood of a more positive health care outcome. Rather, market data on pricing and outcomes is the best way to know whether you are getting quality care at a fair price.

As an example, one provider may offer a cash-pay price of $4,000 for a surgery—but no discount. Another nearby provider may charge $10,000 for that same procedure. That second provider would need to give a 60 percent discount to be on par with the first provider’s non-discounted price.

Samaritan Ministries has given every Samaritan member access to this market data through Healthcare Bluebook. Plus, we offer a fair-price reward as an incentive when you utilize Healthcare Bluebook. For more information, see your Dashboard Health Resources or review the article we published on obtaining fair prices.

When there are more Shares than eligible bills submitted, Needs for the following month may be shared ahead of schedule. There are also times when a surplus in one program can allow for sharing across programs to take place. We are all members of one ministry bearing one another’s burdens. As member Needs are met across the ministry, if a surplus of Shares remains, the Share amounts assigned to each member may be reduced that month.

Because of consistently rising health care costs, over the last several years many members have requested options that offer a lower monthly Share in exchange for paying more of the health care costs when they have a Need. Samaritan Basic provides excellent options you may want to consider.

You can also complete an application for short-term Sponsorship (where your monthly Share is temporarily decreased), which will include a review of your financial situation. Contact us through your Dashboard for more information.

We’re adding age groups in Classic to bring more financial balance to the sharing process. Before making this decision, we carefully reviewed incoming medical Needs to identify trends. We discovered certain age groups were creating a surplus while others were creating deficits. In 2024, sharing deficits in Classic have forced us to prorate medical Needs in January, March, and April, meaning a percentage of medical Needs in those months could not be shared. Introducing age groups will help bring balance, create more financial stability, and reduce the occurrence of proration. While it will take time for some members to adjust to this change, age groups will make sharing in Classic more equitable.

The Board is thoughtful and intentional when proposing new Share amounts. Before finalizing proposed Share increase amounts, Samaritan staff review each membership group using several factors to determine an appropriate Share amount change. One such factor is the trend of bill submissions and broader medical spending projections for each age group and household size. The proposed new Share amounts and adjustments made to age groups in Basic—as well as the introduction of age groups in Classic—more precisely reflect the findings of this review.

You can contact us through your Dashboard. We appreciate your feedback and questions.

We carefully reviewed the data related to sharing in Classic and discovered certain age groups were creating a surplus while others were creating deficits. This analysis helped provide direction when we created the new age groups.

Members enrolled in Medicare are still part of the group consistently creating a deficit in Samaritan Classic. Samaritan Basic is a solid option with great features and a lower monthly Share amount. We encourage members eligible to receive Medicare benefits to carefully consider whether Classic is the best choice for their current circumstances, or if switching to Basic may now be a better fit for them.

Our data analysis strongly indicates certain age groups are sharing fewer Needs and submitting bills with lower amounts. To bring more balance and to the make the sharing process more equitable, we are asking members receiving more Share dollars to pay a higher monthly Share amount.

As of August 1, 2024, the new IUA in Classic is $750. (The old IUA was $400.)

The IUA is the part of the financial burden the member household bears before the rest of the Need is shared among the membership. Samaritan was founded on the concepts in Galatians 6, where each person must carry their own load (verse 5), but we also help one another bear burdens (verse 2). When we look at the big picture of Need sharing, it is important for us to strike the right balance between what a household can bear versus what the larger membership can bear. This is why the IUA on each Need is in place.

You can read more about the IUA in the Guidelines, Section VI. “Amounts That Members Share.”

Health care cost inflation has driven medical costs beyond what the total current Shares can support. Increasing the IUA has been one way to avoid a too-large monthly Share increase. While a Share increase is still necessary, we’ve been able to keep it lower by making other changes.

We surveyed about 20,000 members to see how they would prefer to address the deficit. Members wanted to see Share increases minimized. Instead, they preferred other adjustments made regarding what aspects of health care can be shared and also adjustments to the IUA for individual Needs.

In recent years, Samaritan members and ministry staff have taken several measures to contain medical costs and avoid increasing the IUA. If increasing the IUA was our only measure to keep up with inflation, we’d need to increase the Classic IUA to $1,100. Instead, we are “spreading out” the cost-mitigating measures so that the IUA is increasing to only $750.

In Samaritan™ Classic, the IUA for any Need started prior to August 1, 2024, is handled according to the Guidelines under which you started it.

• The new $750 IUA applies to any Need started on or after August 1, 2024.
• The $400 IUA applies to any Need started on or after September 1, 2020, but before August 1, 2024.

If you have any questions about the IUA amount for your Need, please contact us.

No, it’s actually helping to lower it! When households work to achieve a fair price, they save an average of $5,800 per Need. It makes sense to incentivize each household to get that fair price—they personally save $750, and the larger membership saves considerably more!

This is why we are encouraging all members with a Need to seek the Healthcare Bluebook™ Fair Price™. Please visit the fair-price reward webpage for detailed information.

Yes! As part of the fair-price reward, we will waive your IUA for your Need. Because members save so much money by getting a fair price, it still greatly benefits the entire membership when you get the fair-price reward. Please visit the fair-price reward webpage for detailed information.

We evaluated several options for how to manage the disparity between Needs and Shares in both Classic and Basic. We determined, through careful analysis and extensive member feedback, that the best action we could take with Basic would be to slightly raise Shares, but leave the IUA at $1,500.

The Basic IUA is already $1,500, which is considerably more than the Classic IUA. We recognize different households will have different preferences for managing health care and finances, and we want to maintain both Share and IUA amounts that will function well for different households.

In addition, we want to attract new members. The more members we have, the greater our collective ability to bear one another’s burdens and to pursue our mission and purpose. We therefore want to keep Basic “attractive” as an option for both current and future members by containing the costs in Basic through other means.