*Editor’s note: This information was published in the September 2020 issue of Heartfelt Magazine, CHM’s monthly magazine that provides CHM membership-related tips and tricks, medical advice from doctors, testimonies from CHM members, and more. Please refer to the CHM Guidelines and applicable web pages for the most up-to-date information regarding CHM membership, sharing eligibility, and ministry news.*
Ministry membership meets you where you are, no matter your age, stage of life, geographic location or job situation. CHM is valuable for Christians, as it provides flexibility and transferability throughout your life.
Young adults | Knowledge is power
CHM membership serves young adults in the following ways:
- CHM membership “travels” well—cost sharing support is the same when studying locally, out-of-state or internationally.
- Sharing eligibility is pre-determined, so even when hundreds of miles from home, members aren’t bound by a select network of healthcare providers.
- Young adults who are no longer legal dependents can transition seamlessly to their own CHM membership—allowing pre-existing conditions to date back to the original start date on their parents’ membership.
See what members say:
"I can't express how grateful I am to experience the blessing of Christians sharing one another's medical expenses. This health cost sharing model illustrates the greatness of God and the amazing ways He works in our lives." -Chase Christianson, Hondo, Texas
Read more about Chase's bout with appendicitis while in college.
Growing families | Healthcare for two (or three, four...)
Married CHM members benefit from the Gold program's maternity assistance. Women participating at the Gold level at least 300 days before their estimated due date receive maternity assistance per pregnancy for such qualifying expenses as:
- Pre-natal
- Hospital delivery (including cesarean and multiple births)
- Home births
- Legally-practicing midwives
- Complications (mother and baby)
- Post-natal
- Lactation consultant visits
More things to glow about:
- Any non-routine medical bills your baby incurs in the first three months after birth are eligible for sharing through the mother’s membership according to the Guidelines.
- Families pay no more than three units of membership, regardless of the number of dependent children.
*Editor’s note: Women switching from a lower level to Gold must have an estimated delivery date 300 days after switching membership levels to receive maternity assistance. The CHM staff require notification after the baby's birth to add the child to the family membership.
See what members say:
"I'm so thankful for the kind and thoughtful staff who encouraged me as I submitted bills and navigated pregnancy complications." -Anna Smith, Midland, Texas
See Anna's experience using CHM's maternity program.
Self-employed | Getting down to business
CHM provides on-the-go professionals and self-starters with cost-effective, flexible and reliable healthcare cost sharing support—particularly as they consider their career goals and family responsibilities. Portability is a significant advantage for CHM members in that participation isn’t tied to an existing or future employment position. Likewise, Christians who began their membership as part of a group program can continue their participation even when transitioning to a new employer.
Other highlights:
- Membership operates on a month-to-month basis, providing additional flexibility when it comes to participation start dates or choosing the right participation level.
- Easy, straightforward sharing eligibility means spending less time on healthcare research and more time on your mission.
- Your membership allows you to take ownership of your healthcare and play a more active role in healthcare decisions.
See what members say:
"I thought, I guess we'll see if they really do what they say they will. And they [CHM] really came through." -Tim Ryan, MD, Cartersville, Ga.
Learn about the advantages this entrepreneur found as a CHM member.
Ministry staff | Healthy churches, healthy families
The joining together of CHM members to meet each other’s needs shows that the body of Christ is different from the rest of the world.
As pastors, missionaries, and ministry staff members labor daily at serving and edifying those around them, they find strength in being served by fellow Christians. CHM’s solutions have helped hundreds of participating groups—ranging in size from two people to hundreds of families—focus on the health of the Church while meeting their own financial and spiritual needs—along with the needs of their loved ones and their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Other advantages:
- Ministry membership means your money shares expenses that are God-honoring.
- Your staff can receive spiritual support from Christians outside of their local church or biblical community.
See what members say:
"We want to thank the CHM staff for supporting us so graciously when our heads were spinning and we felt overwhelmed." -Charis Olchesky, La Grange, Texas
Retirement-age | Finishing with ease—and comprehensive healthcare
As CHM members approach retirement age, they can have great comfort in knowing that CHM participation continues without interruption to the next phase of life.
Members who are 65 and older can use CHM as a complement to Medicare parts A and B. (Though Medicare parts A and B likely will cover the majority of healthcare costs, without additional provision like CHM, it’s common for senior citizens to find themselves with high dollar amounts they must pay.)
Other positive features:
- Monthly financial gifts* remain consistent at all participation levels, regardless of your age or medical history, even as you near the stage of life where you’re more likely to incur medical costs.
- The amount Medicare pays for any eligible medical incident applies toward your Personal Responsibility amount.
*Editor’s note: Silver and Bronze, though good programs, can only share surgery bills or medical bills incurred in a hospital; CHM doesn’t suggest or recommend Silver or Bronze for members on Medicare. Medicare-aged members must use Medicare-accepting providers for the outstanding balance of eligible medical expenses to be shared.
See what members say:
"CHM members shared 100 percent of our eligible medical expenses, totaling over $1 million! It was such a huge relief knowing I wouldn't be left with expensive bills as I grieved the loss of my husband." -Stacie Feldman, Murdock, Minn.
Learn how CHM members supported the Feldman family.
Last, but not least
All members—no matter their age—are encouraged to consider Brother’s Keeper participation as an extension of their CHM membership. For Gold members, the Brother’s Keeper program for catastrophic expenses removes the $125,000 per-illness cap to an unlimited amount. Silver and Bronze members receive an additional $100,000 (accruing up to $1 million per illness) with each annual renewal.
