New CHM members sometimes ask how they can know that other participants will take care of them when a medical event occurs. We enjoy answering this question because our history, present and future highlight reasons why you can be confident that CHM members will share your eligible medical expenses.
Our upstanding history
Founded in 1981, Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM) is the longest-serving health cost sharing ministry. Since CHM’s inception, its members have shared 100 percent of each other’s eligible health cost burdens.
And it works! Millions of dollars are shared each year, touching the lives of tens of thousands of people. New testimonies are uploaded monthly; you can see just how powerful your monthly contributions are. Also, a common theme within CHM members’ testimonies is the encouragement they felt when receiving cards and letters from other CHM members who are praying for them as they walk through a medical event.
Our present
Transparency is part of being accountable. Here are just a few of CHM’s internal policies:
- Third-party annual audits: CHM’s annual financial statements are audited by an independent Certified Public Accounting firm. It checks all aspects of CHM from the receipt and disbursement of money to the systems and procedures that control operations. Additionally, copies of annual audits are made available to anyone upon request.
- Our independent board of directors: Management and the Board of Directors regularly review financial statements and reports on CHM’s financial position. The Board also reviews and approves the ministry’s annual budget.
- Maintaining strict internal controls: CHM staff members who receive money do not disburse money. CHM staff members who prepare checks for payment do not sign the checks. CHM staff members who sign the checks do not reconcile bank statements.
- Fraud prevention measures: CHM implemented and abides by the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which directly addresses fraud prevention. As a non-profit organization, CHM is not required to take this action, but it does so to give members even greater confidence in CHM’s safeguards.
- Publishing the CHM Guidelines: The CHM Guidelines are available online, so there should be few questions about what is, or isn’t, eligible for sharing. Our staff is available through multiple methods of communication, including direct social media messages, to give members answers to any Guidelines-related questions.
CHM has been a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity since 2013. This designation is not achieved by every charitable organization—in fact, only two percent of BBB-reviewed charities are accredited. The standards CHM meets go beyond the accountability requirements of local, state and federal laws and regulations. To view the CHM page, go to bbb.org, narrow your search results by selecting “Charities” and type “Christian Healthcare Ministries” into the search box.
Our vision for the future
When God’s people come together to support one another, it becomes a testimony to the watching world. Because of members’ generosity every month as they send in their monthly contributions, CHM was able to support tens of thousands of families last year alone. CHM members have shared over $8 billion in members’ healthcare costs since 1981.
Learn more about CHM’s programs and costs here.
