Traditional health insurance plans are based on contracts where an insurer becomes legally responsible for and accepts someone’s risk of loss (such as their medical bills) in exchange for their payment of premiums.

Sharing programs like Universal HealthShare are totally different. The choice to become a sharing program member is completely voluntary. And monthly contributions by sharing community members are voluntary, non-refundable gifts made to help other sharing program members meet their eligible health care expenses, and to help cover the operational and administrative costs of the not-for-profit Universal Health Fellowship organization.

Sharing contributions do not create a contract or other legally enforceable right to receive funds to pay your own health care expenses. All members take it as a matter of faith, not law, that others will voluntarily make contributions to help with medical costs. Because sharing programs don’t contractually guarantee payments, medical providers consider sharing members to be “self-pay” patients: that is, people who are considered to be individually responsible for their own medical bills.

Good news: some providers will voluntarily agree to bill their services to your ministry program for sharing. And Universal HealthShare may be able to help identify facilities and providers who have historically been friendly and cooperative towards sharing.