This is Angie, the Rock Your Retirement producer. Kathe has been featured in other podcasts over the years. This episode takes you back to 2017, where Kathe appeared on the Retire Hoppy Podcast. We hope you enjoy it.

And while you're enjoying our podcast, can you do us a quick favor? Click on this link to join the Retirement Community and Rock Your Retirement at http://www.rockyourretirement.com/group.

One challenge of early retirement is finding affordable health insurance. Enter Health shares a more cost effective option for some. On this episode, I joined Roy Weinberg and Ted Carr of Retire Hoppy to break down what a health share is. Also, who might be interested and what a health share is not.

What is a Health Share Ministry?

I sell Medicare Insurance, so that is my background on health insurance. Because if that, I also look into a health share ministry for myself back in 2015. There’s not a lot of them and I was seriously considering it. What I know about health shares is that you have to be a Christian and they make you sign a document saying that you will live through Christian standards. Also, it depends on what you’re asking what Christian standards are. So, you need to look at the document that you sign if you can actually do that. Let’s say you had an extra-marital affair and you wound up with an STD, so that’s not covered.

The health care sharing ministries are not insurance. They have different rules that insurance does. For example, I have a condition called dystonia, and that is why every 3 months I have to go to a neurologist to get Botox. Health share doesn't cover that neurology appointment. Therefore, it’s kind of a block for me to join the health share ministry.

What Happens in a Health Share?

In a health share, you pay a certain amount each month similar to a premium, but it's called a sharing amount. You have an unshared amount or personal responsibility that you can use to help pay your bills just like a deductible. There are maximum eligibility amounts that determine how much money you can request for individual expenses. HSMs had additional sharing options. It lets you contribute money to other members once they have reached the summit to help them with uncovered costs.

 

If you can live through the standards of the Bible because not all Christians live through the Bible. Just because you call yourself a Christian, it doesn’t mean that you're covered.

After Our Health Shares Episode

After you discussion about health shares, I joined Ted and Roy for their beer segment. I'm a craft beer newbie who’s comfortable with standard light lagers. However, Roy and Ted took me out of my comfort zone with Stone Brewing’s Go To session IPA.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Retire Hoppy

Retire Hoppy Episode 011 – Health Shares and Stone's Go To Session IPA