Health Insurance or Medical Cost Sharing: Which Is Right for You? with Lauren Gajdek

• No provider networks: Members are free to choose their own doctors and hospitals.
• Nonprofit model: Unlike insurance companies, CHM is a ministry. Members send in a set monthly contribution, which is pooled together to reimburse medical costs.
• Community approach: Instead of being absorbed into a bureaucratic system, members know that their contributions directly help fellow believers in need.

Since its founding, CHM has facilitated over $10 billion in shared medical bills.

How Does Health Cost-Sharing Work?

Here’s how it works for a typical family:

1. Choose your provider. Members can see any doctor or hospital as long as the treatment fits CHM’s guidelines.
2. Identify as self-pay. This allows members to receive significant discounts often, sometimes as high as 40%.
3. Submit bills to CHM. The ministry coordinates with providers as needed. In the meantime, members may set up a temporary payment plan until reimbursement arrives.

The process is straightforward, designed to give families peace of mind while also offering flexibility and savings.

What to Keep in Mind During Open Enrollment

When weighing your options, consider more than just the monthly premium. Ask:

• How much am I actually paying out-of-pocket after deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance?
• Will my coverage travel with me if I go out of state—or out of the country?

A Biblical Approach to Healthcare

CHM reflects biblical principles of bearing one another’s burdens while providing a practical, affordable path to healthcare.

On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:

• I’m refinancing my home and am unsure whether I should roll the closing costs into the new loan or pay them from my investments or retirement accounts. Rolling them into the loan would lower my monthly payment, but is that the wisest choice financially—and biblically?
• Could you explain where the funds actually come from with a reverse mortgage, who technically owns the home in this arrangement, and whether the FHA backs the loan?
• My wife and I recently took a required minimum distribution from her IRA and made a qualified charitable distribution to our church. They told us it wasn’t tax-deductible and wouldn’t issue a receipt. What does the IRS actually require in this situation?

Resources Mentioned:

• Faithful Steward: FaithFi’s New Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)
• Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM)
• Understanding Reverse: Simplifying the Reverse Mortgage by Dan Hultquist
• Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money
• Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and Anxiety
• Rich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich Fool
• Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) or Certified Christian Financial Counselor (CertCFC)
• FaithFi App