*Editor’s note: This information was published in the April 2023 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.*
Responsibility, integrity, and excellence: these are values important in our Christian walk and daily decisions. Making informed choices with safety and clarity provides peace of mind for healthcare costs. That’s why CHM champions consumer protections and intentionally sought—and earned—the nation’s first independent accreditation for a health cost sharing ministry (HCSM).
Consumer protection
As America’s first and longest-serving health cost sharing ministry, CHM wants to give you the tools, resources, and data that enhance, simplify, and serve your needs. We support consumer protection because we support integrity.
Whether it be through innovative best practices, financial analysis, or important legislature, CHM takes actions that align with our mission. That’s why CHM sought and earned third-party accreditation from Demotech, a Columbus, Ohio-based financial ratings firm. Demotech has developed its Faith-based Sharing Review (FbSR™) program to assess HCSMs in 30 different areas of financial and organizational operation. CHM scored 95 out of a possible 100 points on the FbSR™ and is the first and only health cost sharing ministry to earn independent accreditation.
What does “accredited” mean?
A ministry or organization is legitimately accredited if it passes an intense, comprehensive review of operations conducted by a reliable, third-party body of experts. The tougher the accreditation review for health cost sharing ministries, the better it is for the people it serves.
We prioritized getting independent accreditation because, “As the saying goes, without data, you’re just another person with an opinion,’” said J. Craig Brown II, CHM president and CEO.
“If hospitals and other health care organizations are measured for their effectiveness, so should be the case for health cost sharing ministries. But it must be a serious, in-depth, third party, credible review. Otherwise, it’s selling something that may be untrue.”
Core values
CHM’s mission is to glorify God, show Christian love, and experience God's presence as Christians share each other's medical bills.
That mission means that we stand for core values of gratitude, excellence, transparency, respect, and service. These values are reflected in Demotech’s 30-point “Sharing Ministry Accreditation Standards,” which are divided into five areas of examination:
- Core qualifications
- Transparency of operations
- Ministry motivation
- Financially accountable
- Protects its members
Better together
Consumer protection matters because it promotes integrity. Clarity and understanding make a lasting impact on the lives of brothers and sisters in Christ.
The body of Christ is strengthened when God is glorified. Accreditation is an act of taking responsibility, encouraging honesty, and going above and beyond, making a difference for the kingdom of God.
