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Health SharingReport

Samaritan Ministries

Christian ministry in which members send shares to other members with published needs. A different administrative shape from pooled-ministry models. Not insurance.

Editorial score
76
Methodology
2026.2
Reviewed
2026-09-01

Health sharing is not insurance. Programs are not legally required to pay medical expenses and do not have to provide Affordable Care Act protections. NAIC consumer guidance.

Identity and structure

We separate the consumer brand from the organization that actually administers sharing, so two white labels of one program cannot look like two independent choices.

Consumer brand
Samaritan Ministries
Underlying sharing organization
Samaritan Ministries International
Program administrator
Samaritan Ministries International
Underlying program group
samaritan-core
Membership standard
Christian faith and lifestyle standards
Sharing model
Health-care sharing ministry
Directory status
Enrolling
State exclusions (verified)
No verified exclusion list
Operating since
1994
CMS-named HCSM
Yes — named among the large federal HCSMs

Best for

  • Practicing Christians who want member-to-member sharing
  • Households comparing the three largest historic ministries (Samaritan, Medi-Share, CHM)

Not ideal for

  • Secular households
  • Anyone who needs a legal duty to pay
  • People who want a single administrator to pay the provider

Program facts

Monthly share
Household-tier monthly shares assigned to published needs. Confirm the current Samaritan schedule — we do not freeze a monthly number.
Member responsibility (IUA)
Classic $1,000 per need; Basic $2,000 per need plus 10% co-share capped at $2,500 (August 2025 guidelines).
Household pricing
Household tiers (member, couple, family). Maternity requires a multi-person membership or equivalent.
State availability
No published enrollment-exclusion list. Massachusetts members must join Save to Share. State notices apply.
Pre-existing conditions
Shareable only if the condition appears cured and 12 months have passed without symptoms, treatment, or medication. Genetic, hereditary, related-cancer, and heart conditions require five years.
Waiting / phase-in
New-member sharing limits apply. Pre-existing clocks are separate from maternity.
Maternity
Shareable after the IUA on a multi-person membership. Basic maternity maximum $236,500; Classic follows the per-need cap. Confirm the current Section IX.
Preventive
Not an ACA preventive mandate. Routine items are typically member responsibility unless they qualify as a need.
Prescriptions
Need-based, not a formulary. The August 2025 book describes limited supplies tied to a qualifying need.
Virtual care
Not a dedicated telehealth benefit in the secular-IUA style.
Provider access
Typically any provider. Members often pay the bill and receive assigned shares from other members.
Limits
Classic $250,000 per non-maternity need; Basic $247,500. Save to Share is optional for amounts above $250,000 (required in Massachusetts). No lifetime household maximum.
Membership requirements
Statement of Faith, regular Biblical church attendance (typically three of four weeks), lifestyle standards, annual Membership Continuation Form, and a church-leader verification.
Cancellation
Ministry membership rules — not an insurance cancellation statute. Shares to Samaritan are described as non-refundable after 30 days.

Read the program’s own guidelines

How this score was built

DimensionWeightScore
Sharing scope and material limitations

Member-to-member sharing with Classic $1,000 / Basic $2,000 IUA, per-need caps of $250,000 / $247,500, and a cured-plus-12-month (five years for some conditions) pre-existing rule.

2072
Cost and member responsibility

Household-tier monthly shares plus a published IUA. Basic adds a 10% co-share capped at $2,500. We do not freeze a monthly dollar.

2074
Transparency and guideline clarity

A current public Classic/Basic manual with state notices, maternity rules, and a dated change log.

2080
Member support and advocacy

Published member-services hours and a church-leader accountability model. We do not treat testimonials as evidence.

1574
Provider access and included services

Typically any provider. Members often pay first and wait for assigned shares — a different operations shape from pooled ministries.

1070
Administration and operating history

Publicly operating since 1994. CMS-named. Alliance member.

1088
Evidence freshness and completeness

Reviewed the August 2025 guidelines (October revision) on 2026-09-01. Monthly share tables were not copied.

580

Known limitations

  • Faith and church-attendance requirements are a hard filter, not a scoring penalty.
  • Member-to-member assignment is an operations difference from pooled ministries, not a payment guarantee.
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