How to Have a Baby for Free (at a hospital or at home)

On August 1, 2012 our beautiful daughter, Elinor, made her grand debut.  It was my first natural delivery (without pitocin and without an epidural), and we were able to head home within 24 hours.  I had Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance coverage, and I had a perfectly healthy little baby girl.  Time has flown by so quickly.  In less than two months we'll be celebrating her 2nd birthday, and at the same time we'll be celebrating sending off our very last payment for her hospital delivery bill.  Can I get an "Amen"?

Ironically, our yet-to-be-born 4th child, will have their bill paid off  before Elinor will using the exact same doctor and the exact same hospital -- even though neither the baby nor I will have health insurance.  How? This month (June), we'll be receiving 22 checks, each written for $315 addressed to me along with a note of encouragement or prayer.  We'll cash those checks, and we'll make one lump sum payment to cover the entire cost of my delivery.  If complications arise (a C-section is necessary or the baby needs extra care) that too will be paid for by strangers.  Kind of cool, right?

Amazing, right?

 You may be rather puzzled about how one might be able to pull off the con of the century (as I clearly have).  Allow me to take you back in time, dear one, and you shall see.

One of the biggest concerns we had when I transitioned from a full-time working mom to a stay-at-home mom was medical insurance.  We could not afford for me to be on Trey's BCBS insurance, so we opted to purchase private insurance, which in almost all cases, comes without maternity coverage. I've got a 5 year old, a 3 year old, a 1 year old, and I'm 24 weeks pregnant.  At this point, I consider my OB/GYN's office to be my home away from home, so having health insurance that covered everything but maternity care was ridiculous.  What was also ridiculous was receiving letter after letter from BCBS stating that they would be raising my rates as a result of the need to comply with new legislation.  I called BCBS and complained directly -- as any lady would.  Surely paying $188 a month and visiting the doctor exactly one time in the last 12 months balanced out.  Why was I being told I would need to change my monthly payment to $218, $233, and now $257?  When were these increases going to stop?  The answer? Never.

We needed a new plan. Either Trey was going to need to enroll in online midwife classes, or we were going to have to rethink our current insurance situation.  We opted for the latter.  Enter Samaritan Ministries!!!!!! You may recall the story of the Good Samaritan, the one in which a Samaritan did not pass by a hurt and injured man, but instead opted to care for his needs paying out of his own pocket for this stranger to be restored to health.  It's a beautiful Bible story, but also one that seems woefully out of date.  Who does things like that anymore?  It seems rather in the realm of fairy-tale doesn't it?  (I just accidentally typed farty-tale and corrected it. You're welcome).  Anyhow, lo and behold, there are perfect strangers who will pay your medical bills for you, and you get the privilege of partnering with them to pay for other strangers, as well.  Samaritan ministries describes itself as "a Biblical, non-insurance approach to health care needs."  It's not health-insurance.  It's radically different from health insurance.  When you go to the doctor, you check the box as a "self-pay" patient.  However, despite your appalling lack of insurance coverage, you're actually exempt from the requirements of the Affordable Care Act if you participate in Samaritan (or one of the other 2 ministries that have been exempted under the same guidelines). 
Here's how it works:

1. I sign-up to partner with Samaritan Ministries. 
2. I receive a letter each month instructing me who I should mail my "share" to (in my case, it's a $165 check) along with a brief description of how I can be praying for that person.
3. I pop that check in the mailbox, along with a kind note of encouragement or prayer.

What about if I have a "need"?

1.  I collect my itemized medical bills, and submit them to Samaritan Ministries
2. They contact me to confirm that they were received and also to get my permission to negotiate on my behalf for a reduction in my bill.
3. They publish my need by sending a letter to other members directing them to mail me their "shares"
4. I cash the checks and pay my bill.  If anything is left over, I return it to Samaritan.  If additional costs arise, I resubmit those extra bills.

I'm responsible not only for mailing out my "share" each month, but I'm also responsible for any preventative care I may choose to receive.  I schedule my well-woman exam every November.  It's not a surprise medical event.  It comes year after year, every year -- and so my family must budget and pay for that.  Likewise, my children attend well-child exams.  I must arrange with the doctor to let them know I'm self-pay and check the box that says that I want the "under-insured" $10 vaccines. In my experience, my doctors have been elated not to deal with insurance companies.  They charge me $50 for what would otherwise be a $125 visit. 

Another major difference is Samaritan's belief that your family along with your local community of faith should be able to handle needs that are less than $300.  This means that if my child gets pink eye and the visit is $125, I must foot the bill.  We need to have a few hundred dollars set aside for things such as this.  We may not need to use it, but if we do, we'll be glad it's there.  This also means that if an "incident" is more than $300, I am still responsible for the first $300. BUT WAIT!!! This is waived if you (or Samaritan) are able to negotiate a lower bill with the doctor or provider.  This means that if my ER visit comes out to $1200, but they are willing to take $900 in cash to have it all paid off at once, I no longer have to pay that first $300.  It's waived!  In my experience, negotiating a lower bill with the promise of paying it in full is easy to accomplish because insurance companies are often only paying a fraction of what the hospitals and doctors are billing them, so they don't expect you to pay those inflated prices either.

If you are interested in joining Samaritan please visit their website first.  Read the fine print about the $100,000 limit, about the pre-existing condition limitations, lifestyle commitments, etc. Ask lots and lots of questions.  You will want to know whether this fits your family's specific needs.  In our case, it has been a perfect fit that meets our needs so much better than an insurance company.  Imagine calling your "health insurance" rep on the phone and having them pray over the health of your unborn baby. Gold, I tell you, gold.

Also, please keep in mind that Samaritan isn't the only option.  Please consider Medi-Share and Christian HealthCare Ministries. While their goals are similar, they are all slightly different in ways that may mean one is a much better fit that the others. In our local church, I know people who are members of all three of these ministries.  Ask around so you can get first hand accounts of member's experiences.  If you do choose to enroll in one of these three, consider putting their name or member ID down when you fill out your initial paperwork. Your friend may get a month "free" for referring you (though this is not always the case). If you're not sure where to start in comparing these three, here's the first article I ever read on the topic: http://christianmedplans.com/which-plan/

Any other Samaritan folks out there?  Christian HealthCare or Medi-Share?  How has your experience been?