ASMR Quick Exam - If Health Care Were Honest Based on Insurance

I will normally never share political/religious views for personal reasons, but I feel differently right now. One of the main distractions in my life recently has been a conflict of interest with our medical sharing expense company.

I'll spare some of the details and just get right to it, because, if we're honest, I'm not wrong, unfortunately. In some medical settings, you're only as valuable as your money.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT HOW I ACTUALLY FEEL. THIS IS MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH A RELIGIOUS MEDICAL COST SHARING COMPANY, ONE SHARE HEALTH.

This may be a horrible way to ask for an opinion, but if anyone has any legal opinions or backgrounds with medical sharing companies, and you wouldn't mind sharing your opinions, I implore you to please email me at yvettecollier2015@gmail.com . I am not looking for counsel, just an opinion. I would be extremely grateful.

Thank you for coming to this exam.

I'll send your bill later. Much, much later.

=P


EDIT: Some context has been requested, and I imagine those who've never been through this sort of thing, this might be very confusing.


I am self employed. I co-own a business that is still in the start up faze, I don't make a ton of money. But I make just enough to be above the poverty line. I do not have an employer that supplies or helps compensate my health insurance. I am a healthy, active, non-smoking 36 year old adult with no pre-exisiting conditions. Independent, catastrophic health insurance for me (not my husband) would cost approximately $800 a month with a $5000 deductible. This is more than the mortgage on my house. This does not include my husband. Heathcare.gov is not an answer, either.


We found a Christian-based "medical expense sharing" company, OneShare Health, through Christian Ministries, that was about half the cost of insurance and on paper, seemed to fit our needs. That's not to say it isn't expensive, it is.


Last Winter my husband started experiencing what we thought was vertigo. Under our plan, we had small co-pays for doctor visits, this wasn't an issue. The doctor insisted his problems were due to blood pressure and put him on Losartin. He nearly died. We thought he had a heart attack, stopped the BP meds, and were referred to a cardiologist. I called OneShare, they said it would "likely be covered" by their agent, so we went. The cardiologist recommended an echocardiogram, and I called again, it was "likely covered".


Husband still has vertigo, we call OneShare, get a referral for an ENT in their supported network, pre-approve, and go.

A month later, we get a letter from the hospital saying that it has been 45 days since the echocardiogram and the insurance company has not responded. We also get letters from OneShare requesting release of medical records, which we send back all the requests as they arrive. A dozen requests are sent.

According the the "Christian" medical expense sharing company, they cannot verify that these visits aren't related to a pre-existing medical condition. (Husband doesn't have pre-existing conditions, but because they can't determine that...)

So, here we are. Our sort-of-insurance said we would "likely" be approved for doctor visits, on a telephone that I didn't record, so we went because my husband is literally dying from this. And they decide that it is not because they cannot verify his history. Unlike insurance, this is actually legal. They are not obligated to pay ANYTHING. And we have a set of bills from both the sort-of-insurance, and the hospital, and neither wants to talk to the other, they are both so ridiculously unresponsive, ineffective... If you want to meet Jesus sooner than later, OneShare Health will help get you there.

Even with collections, I am not losing my home or assets over this. But someone else is. I have been absent for much of this past year because of this stress, I seldom talk about what's going on, but this is it.


All our previous "covered" medical bills have been reversed. We're even receiving new bills for visits that never happened. On dates we don't recognize. And OneShare has absolutely no answer to this. Just that we need to pay.

If anyone is curious about this "Christian" company, Google their reviews. This experience has robbed my shaky faith in Christians. I no longer consider myself a part of this collective and realize my faith has very little to do with other humans. Slapping the label "Christian" on something does not infact mean anything to this organization.

Even the devil was once an angel.