How Much Does Christian Medi-Share Cost?

Published on May 21, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 14 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

Monthly share levels and the Annual Household Portion drive what you pay with Medi-Share.

Christian Medi-Share is a faith-based medical bill sharing membership administered by Christian Care Ministry, and members submit eligible bills under written guidelines instead of an insurance contract.

How Much Does Christian Medi-Share Cost?

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Published examples show monthly shares from $150 (that's 5 hours of your life at a $30/hr wage, or $60 in 1990 money) to $850 per month as of March 2025 on the published share examples, with the spread tied to age, household size, and the Annual Household Portion you pick.

Most households budget for three buckets: the recurring monthly share, the Annual Household Portion, or AHP, that must be met before bills are shareable, and provider fees that can be due at visits even after the AHP is satisfied.

Medi-Share is priced per month per household, but the cash timing is set by the first medical bill, because the AHP selection, provider billing process, and program requirements like Health Partnership can change what you pay up front during the first year.

What you’re actually buying

Medi-Share is a membership-based way to handle medical bills through community sharing. Members contribute monthly, then submit eligible bills for consideration under a written set of guidelines. The program also includes access tools, like telehealth and discount-style perks, that are meant to reduce what you spend at the point of care.

It is not a standard insurance policy with a state-regulated claims contract. Instead, it runs on voluntary sharing rules administered by Christian Care Ministry. People compare it against an ACA marketplace plan, a short-term medical plan, or a mix of Medicare plus a supplement if they are older. The practical difference is that the guidelines, the AHP, and the billing workflow determine what gets shared and when cash leaves your account.

Important numbers

• AHP options include $3,000 (about $1,200 in 1990 money), $6,000, $9,000, and $12,000 on the AHP options line.
• Provider fees include $50 (about $20 in 1990 money) for many office visits and $500 for emergency room facility visits on the provider fee schedule.
• Medi-Share 65+ lists $99 per month for ages 65 to 74 and $150 per month for ages 75 and older on the Seniors 65+ pricing.

A worked first-year budget

For a Medicare household, the cleanest budgeting exercise is to treat Medi-Share 65+ as a second layer behind Medicare and isolate the amounts you pay to the sharing program. The senior brochure lists a monthly amount of $99 for ages 65 to 74, a monthly amount of $150 for ages 75 and older, and an annual household responsibility of $500 on the 65+ cost section.

Using those brochure figures, a 70-year-old baseline is $99 times 12 months, which is $1,188, and $1,188 plus the $500 annual responsibility equals $1,688 before Medicare premiums and any expenses the guidelines treat as not shareable. Bills arrive fast. Medicare still pays first, so the billing order and Medicare cost sharing remain part of the real-world cash flow.

Monthly share examples

Under age 65, the monthly share you see during signup can look low compared with unsubsidized insurance premiums, but the first-year cash picture is shaped by your AHP selection and how quickly medical use reaches that threshold. A higher AHP can pull the monthly share down, but it also shifts more early spending onto the household before sharing begins, which matters for families planning surgeries, imaging, or specialist care early in the membership year.

People get tripped up when they compare only the monthly share and ignore timing. The member may pay provider fees at visits, then the provider bills Medi-Share for processing, then the household sees what portion is eligible for sharing after the AHP rules are applied. If the household starts membership mid-year, the calendar does not control the reset, the effective date does, and that can change how quickly a member hits a new AHP year during a stretch of ongoing care.

Cost piece	When it hits	What triggers it	What to check
Monthly share	Every month	Household size, age, chosen AHP	Share estimate before enrollment
AHP	When care happens	Eligible bills applied to the household total	How your AHP resets each year
Provider fees	At many visits	Office, urgent care, emergency room	Provider fee rules in program materials
Add-on fees	If assigned	Health Partnership and certain services	Separate monthly charges and lab tasks

Provider fees at the doctor

Provider fees change the feel of a normal appointment because the payment is tied to the visit rather than to an insurer copay structure. Medi-Share describes doctor visits and emergency room visits as shareable only after the AHP is met, and it frames the process as a provider billing Medi-Share after you present your member information on the visit and billing flow.

This matters most in the first month you use care. A clinic may ask for payment at check-in, then send the remainder of the bill later, and Medi-Share’s processing step can determine what portion is discounted and what portion is eligible for sharing. Households that use out-of-network providers, or providers who refuse to bill a third party, may face more friction. It is also where budgeting breaks down if a member assumes the monthly share behaves like a premium that turns every visit into a simple copay.

AHP options and co-share rules

The guidelines define the Annual Household Portion as the amount the household agrees to pay toward eligible bills before sharing begins, and they say the AHP resets every 12 months on the effective date. The same guidelines describe a co-share option that is not available for new members as of May 1, 2024, and they describe a 30% responsibility after the AHP until the maximum annual co-share responsibility is met in the co-share option text.

Health Partnership

Health Partnership is one of the clearest places where the real monthly outlay rises above the share you expected, because it adds a separate household fee tied to health benchmarks. Medi-Share states that the Health Partnership program has one $99 fee for the household and that the cholesterol panel and HbA1c lab cost should be less than $60 on the Health Partnership fee page.

That fee becomes a meaningful annual add-on when it sticks for more than a short stretch. If a household pays the $99 fee for a full year, the arithmetic is $99 times 12, which equals $1,188, and that is before lab costs and any care needed to hit the program targets tied to graduation from Health Partnership.

Faith commitments

Medi-Share positions itself as a Christian program, and membership requires agreement with its statement of faith. The program publishes the text that members agree to on its membership statement page.

That eligibility gate is part of the cost story because it affects who can enroll and what happens if a claim dispute turns on lifestyle standards rather than on a state insurance code. A household choosing Medi-Share is also accepting that program rules govern what counts as eligible, how bills must be submitted, and how member status is maintained over time. If those terms are a poor fit, the cheapest-looking monthly share can turn into a false bargain when a large bill is not shared under the guidelines.

Medi-Share is not insurance

Medi-Share publishes a disclosure that it is not insurance, is not regulated as insurance, and that neither the organization nor members assume a legal obligation to share in another member’s expenses on the not insurance notice page.

This is where the comparison to an ACA plan or employer coverage gets sharp. Insurance policies come with state regulators, mandated appeals, and contract language that dictates payment. A health care sharing ministry runs under member guidelines, and the dispute process looks more like a program review than an insurance appeal. That structural difference does not make Medi-Share unusable, but it does change risk for households that need strict payment guarantees and formal oversight.

Alternatives

Many people look at Medi-Share because ACA-compliant coverage can cost more without subsidies, and because premium tax credits can materially reduce the net premium for eligible households. HealthCare.gov describes how the premium tax credit can lower monthly costs for marketplace plans, which can change the comparison when a household qualifies.

Other paths are situational. Some retirees compare Medi-Share 65+ against Medigap or Medicare Advantage, and military families may anchor costs with TRICARE costs. If the household is worried about a lump-sum event rather than routine care, supplemental products like Aflac premiums are sometimes used as a backstop, even though they do not replace major medical coverage.

Who this cost makes sense for

Makes sense if

• You can budget a monthly share and still carry the AHP level you pick.
• You are comfortable operating under a member guideline model rather than an insurance contract.
• You expect light routine use and want a lower fixed monthly payment than an unsubsidized ACA plan.
• You fit the faith and lifestyle requirements without strain.

Doesn’t make sense if

• You need a regulated insurance claims process and state-level consumer protections.
• You cannot front money on timing gaps between a provider bill and sharing review.
• You expect ongoing specialty care where exclusions or limits could matter.
• You qualify for large ACA subsidies that make marketplace coverage cheaper in cash terms.

What we checked

• Checked the share calculator inputs that drive monthly estimates.
• Confirmed the Health Incentive rules that describe discount qualification.
• Cross-referenced the member discount portal to separate discounts from bill sharing.

Answers to Common Questions

Is Medi-Share priced per person or per household?

Pricing is tied to household composition and the age of the oldest applicant, and households choose an AHP level. That means a couple or family can have a different share than two separate individuals with similar ages.

Do provider fees count toward the AHP?

Medi-Share treats provider fees as separate from the AHP. In practice, you can pay a provider fee at a visit even in a year when your household has already met its AHP.

Is Medi-Share 65+ a replacement for Medicare?

No. Medi-Share 65+ is positioned as secondary to Medicare, so the cost picture includes whatever Medicare requires plus the Medi-Share monthly amount and its AHP.