How Sharing Members Can Manage Their Healthcare Expenses

Liberty HealthShare members take an active role in their health. They learn what it means to be an excellent health sharing member, and they become wise stewards of the resources of their sharing community. 

Our SharePower, which is equal to the combined contributions of our members, is one resource that our members work together to protect, doing their part to reduce healthcare costs for themselves and their sharing community. 

One of the most important ways our members, who are self-pay patients, protect our shared resources is to receive fair and reasonably priced medical care. However, with medical costs expected to continue to climb, we can expect that most providers, hospitals, and surgery centers may initially hand self-pay patients a bill for medical services above a fair price.  

What options do health sharing members have against a healthcare system that isn’t friendly to self-pay patients? How can health sharing members stop this unfair, high medical bill practice from happening to them? What responsibility can our members take before a medical service is scheduled? What steps should a member take to negotiate with a medical provider? 

Every healthcare experience is unique. Here are a few scenarios to help you get fair pricing and quality health care for you and your family. 

Learn what it means to be a healthsharing member. When you chose to be a health sharing member, you learned that health sharing members are considered self-pay patients since they do not have health insurance. This means that you have the right and responsibility to ask for a self-pay discount. 

If you are hesitant to ask for a discount before receiving medical care, you should know that health insurance companies do this all the time. They often only pay the negotiated rate for medical expenses. The average individual doesn’t know they have the right to advocate for themselves and ask for the same discounts and fair pricing. 

Communicate with every provider and medical facility. You have the right to ask every provider, medical center, and hospital if they will offer you a self-pay discount. Here are the various ways to do this. 

• Before scheduling a medical service, ask for a self-pay discount. 
• Review your invoices to ensure that you received a self-pay discount.
• Ask your provider if they would like to bill your health sharing community on your behalf.
• Decide how you and your provider will handle expenses while submitting a medical expense to your sharing community. 
• Determine with your provider if you will make small payments on your bill while waiting for sharing to take place within your sharing community.
• Instill confidence in our sharing community by letting your provider know that Liberty HealthShare members share millions in medical expenses each month.
• Explain that Liberty HealthShare members have shared every eligible medical expense since its inception in 1995. 
• Know your rights. If a hospital or provider explains that they need payment in advance, you still have the right to negotiate. 
• Understand that some hospitals will ask for payment before a service is provided. This common practice is also requested of those who have traditional insurance. You may choose to pay the amount of your AUA as an example of a kind offering of early payment. 
• Decide if you will pay cash for medical services at the time of your appointment. 
• Choose how to handle smaller healthcare costs. Whether it’s paying for a medical expense at the time of service or choosing not to submit expenses that are under a specific dollar amount, it’s wise to manage more minor healthcare expenses to protect the resources of your sharing community.

Always explain the benefits of working with Health Share members. Many providers realize the advantages of medical cost-sharing, and some providers are health sharing members. Still, some health professionals will need to be introduced to the benefits of partnering with health-conscious healthsharing members.  

Advantages in partnering with Health sharing members. Providers are happy to hear that their patients are engaged in their healthcare -- committed to living active, healthy lifestyles, improving patient outcomes for providers. Additionally, health sharing members take care of the administrative burdens that take up time within a provider’s busy schedule. Our healthsharing community actively cares for themselves and others by sharing millions of dollars in medical expenses every month.

Plan for your healthcare. While you can’t entirely plan for unexpected medical needs when they arise, you can consider how you will primarily manage your healthcare needs. You can choose when to schedule yearly medical care and how you will handle billing with your providers. Will you put away savings for an unexpected medical need? Will you wait to schedule a non-urgent medical service? Have you compared your medical service and providers for fair pricing? 

Knowing the answers to these questions ahead of time will help you care for your health, save on medical costs and protect the resources of your sharing community. 

Members can access a new resource 5 Steps to Take if You Need Surgery available in their ShareBox. If you need surgery, knowing what steps to take before your surgery will help you be proactive and plan for a successful surgery. 

We have a caring and powerful community. Our national community of healthsharing members care for themselves and others. For questions about resources that can help you manage your health care costs or your Liberty membership, you can give us a call at (855) 585-4237, and a member of our team will be happy to help you.