Liberty HealthShare Official Blog

At Liberty HealthShare, we are taking the essential steps to help us avoid any potential disruptions or inconveniences the coronavirus may cause in servicing our members.

In the medical world, it seems like costs are always rising. However, there are a few key situations in which costs have actually dropped for individuals. One of these is in the case of members of medical cost sharing ministries, which are allowable under the Affordable Care Act. Liberty HealthShare members actually saw their monthly share amount drop by $50 from 2013 to 2014.

Liberty HealthShare's predecessor and parent ministry is a faith-based group that began in 1988 as a group of Christians who shared end-of-life medical and funeral expenses. Since then, the group has expanded to include a wide range of eligible medical expenses, ultimately becoming Liberty HealthShare. We are not health insurance, but rather we make it possible for individuals to share in one another's eligible medical expenses. This is allowable under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and for that reason, it has grown rapidly in recent years.

Thank you all for the many suggestions I received for upcoming articles of interest. For March, I chose to address heart disease and cold weather. It is very important to know how cold weather affects your heart, especially if you have cardiovascular disease. People with heart conditions should avoid outdoor exertion, like shoveling snow and walking through heavy wet snow.

Presenting your Liberty HealthShare card to your doctor or hospital. One of the best things about being a member of Liberty HealthShare is that you can visit any doctor and any hospital you choose! With Liberty HealthShare, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor! Our call center often gets questions from new and potential members about how to discuss Liberty HealthShare when seeing the doctor. We're here to help you through that process.

"Filing my taxes was simple and easy to do" by Dale Bellis, Executive Director April 15th is just around the corner. The urgency to get your taxes done is building! The 2014 tax year is the first year in which being uninsured will cause individuals and families to be penalized. Taxpayers without health insurance will have to pay a "Shared Responsibility Payment." However, members of Liberty HealthShare are exempt from this additional tax during the months in which their membership is active.

The American Conservative Union (ACU) puts on its Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in our nation’s capital each year. Liberty HealthShare representatives attended this year’s CPAC convention February 25-28, 2015 as exhibitors. While CPAC is a highly charged political event, Liberty HealthShare wants to help influence policy makers and public figures about the needs of healthcare sharing members in a non-partisan, non-political way. Liberty HealthShare especially made inroads with legislators requesting that they give equal status under the law to healthcare sharing for employee benefits, health savings accounts, and self-employed deductions.

For thirteen years, former South Carolina police officer Barbara Pulicicchio had been paying out-of-pocket for her healthcare costs. As a self-pay patient with some medical issues, she was finding it difficult to manage the cost of her care. One day Barbara began reading a book entitled The Self-Pay Patient by Sean Parnell and began learning about the cost-sharing concept. This idea intrigued her, so she began searching the internet for offering medical cost sharing.

Get over the hump and use these 3 easy steps to achieve your goals. A new year signals hope, opportunity, and for many, the opportunity for significant changes. Some people resolve to lose weight. Others decide it's time to enhance their education. Others vow to quit an addictive habit.

How personal values can lead to better healthcare economics. by Dale Bellis, Liberty HealthShare Executive Director Recently the New York Times posted an article entitled, "Onward Christian, Healthcare" by Molly Worthen. We are so happy to see that the media is taking notice of healthcare sharing ministries, and we are encouraged by the impact it is having on the American healthcare landscape. I was quoted in the article as saying, "success comes 'when the marketplace is given the opportunity to produce solutions on its own.'" However, given the way in which the quote was presented, it seemed as though I believe the reason we share medical bills together is because of the economic advantage; because it is cheaper. This quote was accurate; however, I would like to add context, because it is important to know the driving force behind what we do.

Executive Director Dale Bellis explains the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exemption Liberty HealthShare members enjoy.

Could the healthcare sharing mentality change our nation? HealthShare Radio host John Daly asked Executive Director Dale Bellis that question, and his answer might surprise you.

Executive Director Dale Bellis explains how Liberty HealthShare members are able to provide emotional and spiritual encouragement and support to one another through the member ShareBox.

HealthShare Radio host John Daly and Executive Director Dale Bellis discuss members who go above and beyond by giving funds outside their monthly share amounts to assist in charitable efforts.

As entrepreneurs, Kim and her husband needed to find a way to responsibly approach the costs of healthcare. They determined Liberty HealthShare was a good option for them, and they are glad they did.

Executive Director Dale Bellis discusses the range of discounts available to Liberty HealthShare members.

Liberty HealthShare members are a health-conscious group who believe our bodies are temples to be stewarded and cared for. Watch Executive Director Dale Bellis explain some of the ways in which Liberty encourages greater health for our members.

HealthShare Radio host John Daly and Liberty Executive Director Dale Bellis discuss the state warnings about healthcare sharing ministries and why we are proud that we are NOT insurance.

Staff member and sharing member Jonathan White shares his personal story of community care and his perspective on working at Liberty HealthShare.

Executive Director Dale Bellis quickly explains the mission of Liberty HealthShare.

Executive Director Dale Bellis discusses the freedom Liberty HealthShare members enjoy as self-pay patients. Members are free to control their own healthcare, make decisions about their own futures, and regain control they haven't previously had.

HealthShare Radio host John Daly and Executive Director Dale Bellis give a quick explanation of pre-existing conditions as they are handled by Liberty HealthShare.

You may be a healthy person, but what about the costs associated with well visits? HealthShare Radio host John Daly and Executive Director Dale Bellis discuss preventative care.

HealthShare Radio host John Daly and Executive Director Dale Bellis discuss the formula that makes possible the reduction of costs for Liberty HealthShare members.

Last spring, John Daly, an award-winning, internationally-known journalist, news anchor, producer, writer, author, and TV host went from skepticism to belief in the validity of medical cost sharing. A media analyst and former guest on The Tavis Smiley Show, Daly tuned in one day and heard Smiley interviewing Dr. Elaina George, a board-certified ENT physician from Atlanta, Georgia and Liberty HealthShare member. During the course of the broadcast, Dr. George mentioned cost sharing and Liberty HealthShare in particular. This unique concept stopped Daly in his tracks. He wondered, “What is this?”

As a Liberty HealthShare member, what are the steps you should take when seeing your health provider? What do I do when I go to the Doctor? This question is commonly asked by Liberty HealthShare members. For some, it’s your first time seeing a provider since joining. Others have been members for years but haven’t had a medical need in a long time. We want to be sure you understand what to do when visiting the doctor, from giving the receptionist your member ID card to how the medical bill submission process works, so you can feel at ease when going to your provider of choice.

One medical incident can cost thousands of dollars; a sum that doesn't fit into the most household budgets. However, rather than trying to manage these expenses alone, individuals can come together to take advantage of the law of large numbers, a mathematical principle that has significant implications for healthcare. The law of large numbers says that the more times a process is carried out, the closer to the expected average the results become. For example, when flipping a coin, the expected average is to get heads half the time and tails half the time, but in just 10 coin flips, it would not be too extraordinary to end up with 3 heads and 7 tails. However, if a coin was flipped 1,000 times, the result would be much closer to the 50/50 average that was expected. Where healthcare is concerned, the law of large numbers can be applied to the medical costs of people who come together as a group, such as the membership of Liberty HealthShare.

What Liberty HealthShare members should do if they find themselves in this predicament. The Liberty HealthShare payment schedule to medical providers has been shown to be a simple and fair system. However, even after accepting payment for service, some medical providers engage in what is called balance billing.