GUEST POST from Don – Faith-Based Sharing vs ACA

FAITH-BASED SHARING vs ACA

It is time for political “what-iffing.”  This is what happens in the media every time someone wins the White House.  It would be funny except its not.  Never has been.  Every other article is about how bad things COULD happen.  Strangely, if you keep track (I have a short list of nothing-burgers from last go-’round), almost none come true.  I wish I could say otherwise, but sometimes the press won’t even report that someone has dementia when he clearly does.  I saw it early because I’m observant, did you?  Press credibility is gone.  Don’t believe any “what-if” story you read in the next two years.  It is just more non-credibility.  Only believe the facts which have proof (not some “Russian” fairy tale based upon something funded by an opposition candidate.  The press knew it was fake before the election but wouldn’t drop it for another two years.)  So the press lies by withholding facts AND by creating false narratives of “what-if.”  Either way, they have chosen to not report truth.

Political ideals get pushed in the same way.  If the press are FOR something they will write glowing stories, calling opposition to it “disinformation.”  If the press is AGAINST something they will find ways to be critical no matter the truth.  

In that vein, there have been a number of recent articles whining about how wrong Faith-Based Sharing is.  I know about those organizations.  I was part of one for eight years.  I read the rules, and approved.  And they paid on time every bill they had obligated themselves to pay.  As a result my premiums (they called them shares) were dramatically smaller.  Further, I received similar discounts as those with actual insurance.  It was a win-win.  My premiums were over $9,000 lower per year, which doesn’t tell the whole story.  There were some costs I wouldn’t have had with an insurance policy (mostly dealing with Rx and labs).  Still, when all was said and done our savings were over $6,000 per year.  I wondered what insurance companies were doing the extra cash.  I think YOU KNOW what they were doing.  Their government-approved insurance executives were being paid millions.  

All I had to do to reap the benefits was follow a few simple rules.  Avoid illicit drugs and driving while drunk were a couple.  Why are you paying for those foolish medical emergencies anyway?  Both totally avoidable and both extremely expensive.  One common cause of Emergency Room admittance is substance abuse according to the National Health Statistics report (published every year).

What is the truth about Faith-Based Sharing (FBS):

1. FBS is not wrong, just different.
2. FBS follows its own system, which they ask those who participate to read fully before joining. They don’t hide any of the rules or restrictions.  For instance, the one in which I participated for 8 years made it clear that they would not pay for any injury caused by alcohol or drug abuse. Simple for me.  I don’t partake in those leading causes of injury.  Thus, there was never a bill they refused to pay.  (They also would not pay for elective surgeries like face lifts, chest raising, or folicle restoration.)
3. FBS actually is very much like what insurance was like prior to when the Affordable Care Act came on the scene … you could be denied coverage if you broke the rules, and the premiums were far less.  I happen to prefer insurance like it was.  There was never a question of whether your bill would be covered.  If the policy said it would be covered it was.  Not like today where insurance companies deny claims for the tiniest reasons (The hospital mistakenly reported your surgery happened at 12 am instead of 12 pm., but the same day either way; or the wrong sub-code was added.)

So, it used to be that a policy would not cover a pre-existing condition for the first year.  If you had Blue Cross of Michigan that was out of coverage for only 6 months.  The carriers also did not cover pregnancy for the first year.  That prevented people who were pregnant or just diagnosed with cancer from jumping immediately into an insurance plan and forcing their lack of planning on others.  It was simple and easy, sign up for coverage BEFORE you have an emergency.

It used to be that the insured could switch companies any month they wanted.  My wife is stuck in the 12 month waiting period for her policy with ACA.  She can’t change companies until 2026.  That is true because her questions were not answered promptly when she contacted the insurance company in mid-November.  By the time she found out that her premiums were higher than what was in the portal it was beyond the sign-up period.  (An unusual case, but there it is).

It used to be the insured could choose any doctor, hospital, or lab.  Now it is much more likely that the insured cannot.  Almost every plan is an HMO or PPO.  The insurer won’t pay the provider who isn’t in network as much as those in network.  Thus, most doctors will not accept patients whose plans aren’t in THEIR network.  Why should they?  Who is going to make them?

Your closest ER may not be in network.  Your closest pharmacy may not be either.  And if you are on vacation there may be zero in-network providers.  That was rarely the case before ACA.

When it finally came out, I read as much of the ACA law as I could stomach (it was thousands of pages), skimmed a bunch, and quickly decided I did not want to be part of it.  Of course I could not “keep” the insurance plan I had.  That was a lie.  Those excellent and inexpensive plans which covered everything with low deductibles and with out-of-pocket limits below $6,000 were killed.  Suddenly, if I kept going, my premium was going to double, my deductible and OOP, too.  No better coverage.  Most mid-age and younger adults don’t remember.  Now some want us to make things even worse with nationalized care.  Look at the PROBLEMS Europe and Canada have with theirs.  Sure, the “benefits” are inticing.  But even with a new car one should research the problems before buying.  The beautiful thing’s transmission will likely fail at 42,000 miles (36,000 ends the warranty)?  Nope, I don’t want that hunk o’ junk car.  

Finally, there is nothing perfect under the sun.  There’s only poor, better, and best.  ACA never made financial sense to me.  Faith-Based Sharing turned out to be a much better plan for most who sign up.  Just read the rules first.  By the way, most allow you to sign up whenever YOU want.  Can I mention that most FBS programs allow businesses to join and provide coverage to their workers for about half the cost of ACA plans (same rules apply)?  

Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley

[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]

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