Medical Insurance Savings

A while back I mentioned that Ryan and I were making some changes to our finances, both with our budget and our investments.  I can’t give you much advice with the investments, except to get involved with a financial planner who can guide you in the right direction.  If you live nearby and are HAPPILY married, I can recommend someone.  Just email me.  Otherwise, I would recommend using one of Dave Ramsey’s ELP’s.  We’ve been using one of his ELP’s for the past few years, but we also have our other guy.

As far as our budget goes, we’ve made some changes to save big!!!  The biggest being our health insurance.

Before I start I want to say two things:
1. I am, in no way, being paid, encouraged, or bartered with to tell you about this health care provider.
2. We have only been using them for a month and have not had a medical visit yet, so my recommendation is from personal research and a friend’s experience. 

I’ve been really excited to share this with you guys!  I’ve casually mentioned it to three different teacher friends and ALL have switched over (well one is still researching it).  This medical coverage is for CHRISTIANS.  It is a biblical approach to health care needs.  Some of you, probably most of you, have good insurance.  You or your spouse work for a company that pays quite a bit for your insurance as a benefit for working there.  You might pay a small monthly amount with a deductible.  Regardless, due to some “governmental changes,” almost ALL companies are having to raise insurance rates, and in 2014, everyone is required to carry medical insurance.  

BUT for those of you who do NOT have insurance, are self-employed, or happen to be a teacher whose medical insurance is ridiculous, you’ll want to listen up!  As most of you know, Ryan is a teacher and I’m at home raising our son.  Therefore, we have good ol’ teacher insurance.  We were paying roughly $550 a month (out of pocket) for insurance with a $3000 (per family) deductible.  Come September when teacher benefits start over, our new plan is going up to $760 a month (out of pocket) with a $4800 (per family) deductible.  Yes, you read correctly.  For a family like ours, who only go to the doctor for Beckham’s well visits (which are covered) and probably once a year for me, this plan is a killer!  Even if I got pregnant, I would barely reach that deductible. 

When we heard insurance was going up another $200+ a MONTH, with an impossible to reach deductible, we had to make a change.  My friend suggested SAMARTITAN MINISTRIES for our health care needs.  They have been using them for over a year and LOVE it.  They are a health care provider for Christian families.  Why just Christians?  Read HERE.  They are recognized by the government as “insurance” though, so when 2014 is here, you’ll have it. 

I’m going to give you a couple basics of this plan (from our point of view).  I recommend YOU research it if it is something you are interested in.  There are tons of different scenarios about medical coverage that I cannot answer or explain in one blog post, so please check them out yourself.  Every family has different medical needs.  They will send you information free for you to look over, as well as speak to you about any concerns. 

—They have strict guidelines that you must agree to, but if a follower of Christ, they are simply the guidelines God has commanded of us!  Click HERE to see some of them.

—Monthly Fee: $370


—Anything over $300 in total is COVERED.  Pregnancy (if it’s not pre-existing) is covered, assuming it’s over $300 (haha).  If your kiddo breaks an arm and he has three different medical bills all totaling over $300, it’s covered.  Therefore, if you have a doctor’s visit that is $299, you have to pay for it.  Even if we did this each month, we would STILL save money compared to our old plan.  Remember we would have to still pay this with our old plan until we reached our deductible of $4800.

—You get a cash discount at doctor visits (assuming your doctor provides it…most do) since you’re not using insurance to pay for the bill.  Simply tell them you’re a self-pay patient. 

—There is a little more leg work on your part to “file” a bill in order to get it paid for (this is why you get a discount though at most doctor offices…because they don’t have to do the leg work of filing for you).
 

I do not know if medicines and such are covered.  There are A LOT of different situations I’m sure you’re curious about, but we’re a boring family, medically, and were most concerned with the basics listed above, although we my husband did research everything.  They do a good job at answering commonly asked questions in their FAQ’s section.  We prayed about it and trust God will provide!  We finally feel good about paying “insurance.”  Plus, we feel much better, morally, about where our money is going.  Click on the links above to go to their website. 

ALL IN ALL, WE ARE SAVING $180 A MONTH, PLUS THOUSANDS IN MEDICAL EXPENSES (DEDUCTIBLE).  AND STARTING IN SEPTEMBER WE WILL SAVE $390 A MONTH, PLUS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN MEDICAL EXPENSES.

I hope this helps someone out there!  Just trying to share how we save money!  I know this won’t be for everyone, but it’s worth checking out if it’s compatible with your family.