As the pastor of a small church, I was looking for a healthcare option that works for me. Self-employed since 2007, I’ve served as a pastor since 2010, and became a member of CHM in 2014.
In 2022, I qualified for healthcare subsidies, so I discontinued my CHM membership. But, like many people, I experienced high deductibles and an environment where it seemed the insurance company had more control over my health than the attending physician.
I returned to Christian Healthcare Ministries for two primary reasons:
- CHM is affordable
- CHM is Christian
As my dissatisfaction with health insurance grew, I thought back to when CHM shared my medical bills from after I fell from a tree. I shattered both wrists, broke my left hand and forearm, and did significant damage to my back. My hospital bills were more than $200,000. With CHM’s help, those bills were reduced to just over $60,000; the ministry shared 100% of the cost apart from my Personal Responsibility.
My experience with CHM is positive. The staff is courteous and helpful, and the sharing process is straightforward. Health insurance often felt impersonal and frustrating. One major advantage with CHM is that if my attending physician says I need something, I’ve reached the Qualifying Amount and Personal Responsibility, and it’s an eligible expense, it’s shared. I didn’t have the same experience with health insurance.
CHM reminds me that health cost sharing is about believers bearing one another’s burdens. Knowing that fellow Christians are praying for and supporting one another financially brings a sense of encouragement that simply doesn’t exist in the health insurance model.
My advice to Christians is this: affordability matters, and so do values. CHM is more than a way to address medical expenses—it’s a ministry built on biblical principles of generosity, stewardship, and caring for one another.
