CHM membership for Maryland residents

Thank you for your interest in Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM)! Participation in this 21st century ministry is a great way to satisfy your healthcare costs while helping other Christians meet theirs. CHM members have shared over $8 billion in one another’s healthcare costs since 1981. Additionally, members pray for and send each other letters and cards of encouragement.

CHM membership for Maryland members is member-to-member, complying with Maryland state law. Here’s how it works:

  • Maryland members write a check for their voluntary sharing monthly gift amount* made out directly to other Maryland members, and mail it following the instructions listed on each month's Member Gift Form.
  • When a medical event occurs, Maryland members submit their medical bills to CHM. Once CHM has reviewed their medical bills for eligibility, they then receive from CHM an Explanation of Sharing detailing the checks they will receive from other members.

*Please note that monthly financial gifts are sent by check, not credit card or bank draft because the giving is member-to-member.

What Maryland members say about CHM:

We’re thankful for CHM’s help with our medical expenses. We’ve been greatly blessed.

–Andrew Schrock, Oakland, MD

I was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer that’s difficult to overcome. My journey with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation treatments lasted for eight months and finally ended positively. Initially, fear and frustration gripped our family as we faced the unknown. I immediately called CHM to discuss finances. My mind was put at ease when a staff member told me that I was a Gold level member with Brother’s Keeper. I didn’t need to worry about money; instead, I was encouraged to focus on getting well.

–Rosalind Martin, Clear Spring, MD

CHM meets each of the qualifications set forth by the state of Maryland for Maryland residents (click to see excerpt below).

Maryland Code, Insurance § 1-202

(a) This article does not apply to:

(4) a voluntary noncontractual religious publication arrangement that:

(i) is a nonprofit religious organization for which the State may not be held in any way liable or responsible for any of its debts, claims, obligations, or liabilities;

(ii) publishes a newsletter whose subscribers are limited to members of the same denomination or religion;

(iii) acts as an organizational clearinghouse for information between subscribers who have medical costs and subscribers who choose to assist with those costs;

(iv) matches subscribers with a willingness to pay and subscribers with present medical costs;

(v) coordinates payments directly from one subscriber to another;

(vi) suggests amounts to give that are voluntary among the subscribers, with no assumption of risk or promise to pay either among the subscribers or between the subscribers and the organization;

(vii) does not use a compensated insurance producer, representative, or other person to solicit or enroll subscribers;

(viii) does not make a direct or indirect representation that it is operating in a financially sound manner or that it has had a successful history of meeting subscribers' medical costs;

(ix) provides to each subscriber a written monthly statement listing both the total dollar amount of qualified medical costs submitted for publication and the amount actually published and assigned for payment;

(x) does not use funds paid by subscribers for medical costs to cover administrative costs;

(xi) submits a registration statement, including a copy of any application forms and guidelines, promotional, or informational material distributed by or on behalf of the arrangement, to the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of Title 6, Subtitle 4 of the Business Regulation Article;  and

(xii) provides the following verbatim written disclaimer as a separate cover sheet for any and all documents distributed by or on behalf of the exempt arrangement, including applications, guidelines, promotional, or informational material and all periodic publications:

Notice:

This publication is not issued by an insurance company nor is it offered through an insurance company.  It does not guarantee or promise that your medical bills will be published or assigned to others for payment. No other subscriber will be compelled to contribute toward the cost of your medical bills.  Therefore, this publication should never be considered a substitute for an insurance policy. This activity is not regulated by the State Insurance Administration, and your liabilities are not covered by the Life and Health Guaranty Fund. Whether or not you receive any payments for medical expenses and whether or not this entity continues to operate, you are always liable for any unpaid bills.

Bring-a-Friend in Maryland

The state of Maryland doesn’t allow Maryland members to use Bring-a-Friend (BAF) credits towards their monthly gift amount; however, Maryland members are able to use BAF credits towards their Personal Responsibility amount.

When you submit a medical bill, you can choose at that time to apply any Bring-a-Friend credits towards your Personal Responsibility, possibly completely offsetting that amount.

Additional information

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