2023 Share increase vote FAQs

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.

Criteria for a Share increase vote to pass or fail was simplified. In order for a Share increase vote to fail, more than 50% of the entire membership within that particular program (Classic or Basic) must vote no.

We are making these changes to:

1. Reduce the amount of proration members experience.
2. Lower the size of future Share increases as much as possible.
3. Make Share increases more predictable and easier to budget for.
4. Help us better manage medical cost increases to keep our ministry healthy.

When the membership of Samaritan was smaller, the old voting methods were helpful, and waiting until we prorated three months was often a good failsafe to ensure Shares were not higher than they needed to be. But as the ministry has grown, these measures no longer serve members well. Instead, it reduces our efficiency in situations where it’s apparent that a Share increase is needed—and that causes a heavy burden for many of the Samaritan families with Needs who must deal with proration in the meantime. These changes allow us to more efficiently adjust Shares and conduct Share increase voting to meet the growing needs of members. This change also helps us reduce prorating in the future.

Remember that all Share increase proposals must still be approved by the majority member-elected Board of Directors before being submitted to the membership for a vote. No other health care sharing ministry allows member voting on Share increases.

The only time the Board of Directors submits a Share increase proposal to the membership for a vote is when the Board must ensure member Needs can be met by Shares. Remember, too, that if there are more Shares than Needs, Samaritan members will see a Share reduction for the month. In fact, members have had a Share reduction seven times in the past six years.

The previous Share increase process has led to larger and unpredictable Share increases for members, which makes Share increases a challenge to budget and ultimately pay for. The member pain due to these Share increases is significant and no one would prefer to vote “yes” for these increases, including us. The change in voting gives more approval authority to your majority member-elected Board of Directors so they can speed up the process and bring more consistency and predictability. We believe this will result in less proration, lower Share increases, and more consistent one-time-a- year increases in the same month (for example, July of each year), which will be easier for members to budget around.

The Board of Directors proactively proposed 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 Section IV.A.2.).

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.

The short answer is that members of Samaritan Ministries are subject to the same increases in health care costs as everyone else. Medical costs have risen more than 80% over the past 10 years, and hospital costs have increased even more. There is no end in sight for medical cost increases with the forecast for 2024 being another 7% increase. Share amounts must regularly increase so that this community can bear members’ medical burdens as health care costs rise.

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 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.

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 are necessary. Cost containment efforts we started implementing more than two years ago are now providing the membership with millions of dollars in additional savings each year, and we will continue to advance solutions to best help the membership steward resources.

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. When we prorate, members are given the opportunity to contribute to the Member Assistance Fund to help those going through proration.

No. Share increase votes do not impact the IUA. The IUA is set separately by the member-elected Board of Directors. Currently, there are no changes to the IUA in Classic or Basic.

The goal is that each program has enough Shares to meet Needs, but Needs fluctuate each month. We are first and foremost members of Samaritan Ministries, 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. This has been the ministry’s philosophy and practice since Samaritan Basic was introduced in 2017.

In 2023 Classic has had more eligible bills than available Shares intermittently. In May, 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.

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.

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.

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. When possible, before you see a provider, sign in to your Dashboard and browse Healthcare Bluebook™. 

Remember that when you have a medical procedure coming up, you can also get the fair-price reward by using Healthcare Bluebook to find a fair-price facility—see the fair-price reward page for details.

There's a couple of important things all of us can do: We can be engaged health care patients, staying informed on ways to promote our health and wellness. And we can 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 copays.

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 Dash before seeing a provider. Members can also receive a fair-price reward for demonstrating they chose a Healthcare Bluebook fair-price provider.

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 page.

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.

To reduce mailing expenses, provide more notice to members before new Share amounts go in to 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.

If you do not currently have a Dash account, contact Samaritan and our Technical Support team can help you sign up on Dash.

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