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How Does Sharing Work?
Health care cost sharing allows members of our community to help with each other’s medical needs. Here’s how it works.
When you join Universal HealthShare, you’ll receive a Membership Card that you can present to your doctor, and our Sharing Guidelines that documents every feature of your sharing program, including the details of what medical expenses are sharable.
Universal HealthShare uses physician networks to help control costs for all members. To get the most from the sharing community’s sharing dollars, the use of in-network physicians is required for sharing eligibility. Universal HealthShare is affiliated with the Multiplan/PHCS Practitioner & Ancillary network that includes more than 700,000 providers nationwide. To find out whether your doctor or other medical provider is included in Multiplan/PHCS, visit FindProvider.UniversalHealthFellowship.org (Because providers sometimes change networks, you should always call to confirm they are still participating when you schedule your appointment).
When you visit a provider, you typically pay a consultation fee per visit. The amounts vary by program and are described in the Sharing Guidelines and printed on the front of your membership card. Then, ask your provider to send the remaining bill to Universal HealthShare using the information on the back of your membership card.
Universal Health Fellowship will review and make determinations on every sharing request based on the Sharing Guidelines.
What Sharing Programs Cost
Universal Health Fellowship offers many different health sharing programs, as well as optional features. This means you can easily choose the program that best fits your monthly budget. In general, Universal HealthShare program monthly contributions are up to 40% less than the cost of traditional monthly insurance premiums.
Monthly contributions are determined in part by the age of the individual member and contribution amounts may be adjusted at the end of each member’s program year as a result. Also, contribution amounts are higher for members who smoke as smoking increases health risks for the member and costs for the sharing community. In the interest of better health, we encourage members who are smokers to consider a cessation program, some costs of which may be eligible for sharing.
There is a non-refundable application fee required of all who apply for membership, and all participating members must join Universal Health Fellowship and pay a low monthly membership due, currently $15, as well as their monthly sharing contribution amount.
Other Things to Know About Sharing
Health Questionnaire. To activate membership in Universal HealthShare programs, you’ll be asked to complete a Health Questionnaire for each member of the household. This is required to create each member’s initial health profile that will be used in supporting your families’ health needs.
Waiting Periods. Depending on the Universal HealthShare program you choose, there may be one or more waiting periods for certain types of medical services. To understand this, consult the Sharing Guidelines for your program.
Register for Telemedicine. 24/7 telemedicine consultations are immediately available to every household member, with no waiting period and no consultation fee. Registration is required only once and it’s as easy as completing an online form or calling our Customer Service team.
Universal HealthShare Program Features
Universal HealthShare programs offer different levels of sharing and different recommended sharing amounts, but here’s are some things all programs have in common:
- All Universal HealthShare programs give you an opportunity to help others in need because it’s the right thing to do.
- Universal HealthShare offers a wide range of programs with monthly contribution levels that are affordable for most, with monthly contributions that can be up to 40% less than traditional insurance plan monthly premiums.
- Members have access to the Multiplan/PHCS provider network with over 700,000 providers nationwide. To discover whether your doctor is included in the network, visit: FindProvider.UniversalHealthFellowship.org.
- Choose any hospital anywhere in the continental USA.
- Universal HealthShare programs are currently available in 40 states. (Programs are not available to residents of Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington State, or U.S. Territories.)
- New members can join Universal HealthShare any time of the year.
- Sharing programs are available with Non-Sharable Amounts (NSA) as low as $1,000 for an individual and $4,500 for a family.
- Telemedicine is included with no consultation fee on your first day of membership. It’s available for unlimited use for every member of your household.
- Most pre-existing conditions are eligible for sharing once a waiting period has been satisfied.
- Universal HealthShare includes wellness and prevention programs and annual routine physicals for every member.
Health Sharing is Voluntary
Traditional health insurance plans are based on contracts where an insurer becomes legally responsible for and accepts someone’s risk of loss (such as their medical bills) in exchange for their payment of premiums.
Universal HealthShare programs are different. The choice to become a sharing program member is completely voluntary. And monthly contributions by sharing community members are voluntary, non-refundable gifts made to help other sharing program members meet their eligible health care expenses.
Sharing contributions do not create a contract or other legally enforceable right to receive funds to pay health care expenses. All members take it as a matter of faith, not law, that others will voluntarily make contributions to help with medical costs. Universal Health Fellowship directs monthly contributions between members in its health cost sharing ministry.
Legal Notices
While sharing programs are unregulated, many state governments have published legal notices to inform their constituents about sharing organizations. Additionally, some states have adopted their own Individual Mandate laws, some of which impose a state tax penalty. It is important for each member to be familiar with their state notices and tax laws regarding sharing programs, including whether they qualify for an exemption from their state’s Individual Mandate, if any.
The state Legal Notices serve to further clarify that sharing programs are not health insurance plans. To read notices from all states that have issued them, click here
An additional notice discusses the federal and state Individual Mandates for health care programs. To read this notice, click here.
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