No. MemberCare is not insurance.

Since MemberCare is NOT insurance it does not satisfy the individual insurance mandate in the Affordable Care Act, which requires individuals to have coverage for hospitalization, surgery or what is otherwise considered major medical events. We urge members to acquire coverage that satisfies that mandate and we can refer to Christian agencies that provide it.

No additional co-pays. Routine tests and procedures are included.

MemberCare is not insurance. Your monthly fee pays for all in-clinic primary and preventive medical care without additional co-pays. The Center does NOT bill any insurance carrier for the medical services provided to patients, and MemberCare monthly fees are not reimbursable by any health insurance company, and may NOT be applied to any insurance plan deductible. You may request that your insurance carrier apply the membership fee to your deductible as they might for services provided by any other out-of-network provider.

Unrestricted Access to Unhurried Medical Care

The U.S. healthcare system is a fee-for-service payment model, this method rewards doctors who see patients in bulk, which ultimately results in the 15 min primary care. Improving the quality of healthcare is a primary objective for the organization. CHC is a medical home dedicated to providing unrestricted access to unhurried medical care that incorporates strongly-held Christian beliefs and values.

MemberCare plan works well in tandem with a Health Care Sharing Ministry (HCSM)

Patients without traditional insurance also find that our outpatient MemberCare plan works well in tandem with a medical expense sharing ministry like Samaritan Ministries International or a higher deductible, lower cost “catastrophic” insurance policy, which typically covers the bulk of expensive hospitalizations, major surgeries, and emergency room visits for life threatening situations.

Christian Healthcare Centers, Inc. is a nondenominational not-for–profit (501c3) organization that exists to provide affordable, quality and comprehensive health care services to the Body of Christ. We believe that God wants His people to care for one another and to be good stewards of the gifts, talents and resources He entrusts to us.

Simply stated, the reason CHC exists is stewardship. God calls believers to be good managers of the resources He provides. This includes being stewards of our health, our finances and the gifts and abilities with which we have been equipped. Christian medical professionals are called to steward their medical skills and knowledge. Christian patients are called to steward their physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing. Everyone is called to be better stewards of limited financial resources. CHC was founded to provide the Body of Christ with an effective way to fulfill an important part of Christian stewardship.

Although the Affordable Care Act claims to guarantee health care for everyone, it misses the mark on the affordable part. More and more patients and doctors are frustrated with the broken healthcare system in the United States. Although we have cutting edge medical technologies, therapies, medications and highly skilled practitioners, the models for healthcare delivery are inefficient and remain inaccessible to many. Patients pay more out of pocket for less access to their doctor. Experienced physicians retire from medical practice early because they spend more time filling out insurance paperwork than caring for patients. Christian Healthcare Centers’ medical model restores the doctor-patient relationship by removing insurance bureaucracies from getting in the way of patient care and by removing the fee-for-service model that reimburses physicians for merely seeing patients whether their health improves or not. The result of a model like CHC is healthier patients, happier doctors and improved healthcare. In short, better stewardship.

There is another important factor in CHC’s founding.  We are committed to deepening a greater sense of Christian community among the followers of Christ. We believe Christians must use gifts, abilities, professional expertise and resources to cause others to flourish, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Christian Healthcare Centers’ MemberCare program is an affordable membership program for individuals and families, or for employers to offer their full and part time employees and their enrolled family members. The program provides access to high quality healthcare services at a local Christian Healthcare Center. Parents whose children attend a college in a location served by CHC may choose to provide a membership to provide medical care during their time in school.

No. Your monthly fee pays for all in-clinic primary and preventive medical care without additional co-pays. The Center does NOT bill any insurance carrier for the medical services provided to patients, and MemberCare monthly fees are not reimbursable by any health insurance company, and may NOT be applied to any insurance plan deductible. You may request that your insurance carrier apply the membership fee to your deductible as they might for services provided by any other out-of-network provider.

No. Since MemberCare is NOT insurance it does not satisfy the individual insurance mandate in the Affordable Care Act, which requires individuals to have coverage for hospitalization, surgery or what is otherwise considered major medical events. We urge members to acquire coverage that satisfies that mandate and we can refer to Christian agencies that provide it.

MemberCare covers many types of medical care provided outside of the hospital. This means that members should obtain coverage for major medical or catastrophic events that require hospitalization, and for ancillary medical services MemberCare does not provide, e.g., diagnostic laboratory testing, MRI, CT.

Christian Healthcare Centers has chosen to not participate in the Medicare program, therefore, we do not submit claims to Medicare for reimbursement. However, a person on Medicare part A might use MemberCare as a substitute for Medicare part B as long as they understand that fees paid to the Centers is not reimbursable through their Part B plan.

• Convenient and efficient access to quality healthcare services (usually same day or next day appointments)

• No co-pays, appointment or office fees

• No additional fees for routine labs (as needed)

• Free annual physicals

• Free vaccines for children under 18 (family membership required)

• Free school and sports physicals for children under 18*

• Free in-clinic procedures (stitches, wound care, simple castings) as needed

• Pharmacy and medication program assistance

• Wellness and health education

• Access to a network of specialists and ancillary medical services

No. Our MemberCare program is not insurance and Christian Healthcare Centers is not an insurance company. Your membership does not include any goods or services you receive outside of the member benefits provided by Christian Healthcare Centers.

Our MemberCare program does not pay for most prescription expenses and other medications. However, we can assist you with enrollment in various programs to make the costs of prescriptions and medications more affordable and may provide you with sample medications when available. Also, as a CHC member, you may apply for financial assistance with prescription medications from our Benevolent Fund, which is supported through our charitable giving activities and designation of 10% of CHC revenue into that fund. Contact the Director of Operations for information on the application process.

We offer traditional family practice medicine delivered to patients from a Christian worldview and according to Christian values. We see young, old, and everyone in between. We offer services at a lower overall cost than what most people pay with their traditional insurance deductibles.

We want to work for you and we want to give you the time and attention you need from us. When a doctor contracts with an insurance company to take payment for services, the patient is a secondary focus to the requirements of the insurance company. More and more restrictions are being placed on how medicine is practiced, and unfortunately, cost is often the deciding factor rather than the quality of care. CHC wants to be solely focused on each patient’s wellness.

Many people continue to believe that basic medical services should be included in their medical insurance policy. This mindset reveals the educational effect of decades within the third-party payer system that has conditioned us to believe that insurance should cover preventive and health maintenance care. In reality, insurance is designed to cover the unexpected, catastrophic events whose cost would create a crippling financial burden on us and our family. One of reasons medical insurance costs so much is that we have come to expect it to pay for everything related to our health care. Yet, we would never expect our house insurance to cover new carpet or our car insurance to buy new windshield wipers. The pricey healthcare costs that we see today have been driven by the expectation that our health insurance covers routine preventive and health maintenance care almost to the point of absurdity, e.g., coverage for birth control pills.

Your insurance can still be utilized for referrals to specialists, additional testing, prescriptions and other ancillary medical services such as x-rays, MRI, CT, physical therapy, etc. Many of the specialists and ancillary medical providers within our preferred provider community work with patients’ insurance. Patients without traditional insurance also find that our outpatient MemberCare plan works well in tandem with a medical expense sharing ministry like Samaritan Ministries International or a higher deductible, lower cost “catastrophic” insurance policy, which typically covers the bulk of expensive hospitalizations, major surgeries, and emergency room visits for life threatening situations. If you are interested in learning more about medical expense sharing let the office personnel know or visit samaritanministries.org.

Absolutely. Our services would most likely be treated by your insurance provider as any other out-of-network charge. We are happy to provide you with the appropriate codes to submit for possible payment with your insurance at the end of your visit, however, we cannot guarantee payment.

We are able to control costs better because we are a not-for-profit organization and because we do not have to employ people to complete complex paperwork for insurance companies. When we don’t have to negotiate with insurance companies about what we want for our patients and subsequently don’t have to wait to get paid for what we do for our patients—we all win. We enjoy our jobs and your cost goes down. In the end this leads to happier, healthier lives for all.

Absolutely; however, CHC providers have opted out of Medicare. This means neither CHC nor the Medicare patient can submit a claim to Medicare for reimbursement for medical services provided through our MemberCare program. The MemberCare option for seniors on Medicare offers a great enough savings to appeal to nearly all Medicare patients.

Under current HSA rules, the MemberCare fee cannot be funded from your HSA. Any medical expenses you incur outside of our office can be paid out of your HSA. Legislation has been introduced in Congress to make it possible for the MemberCare fee to be paid from an HSA.

Does this prevent me from becoming a member?
One of the reasons Christian Healthcare Centers was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization was to make access to good medical care affordable for members of the Body of Christ. We designate 10% of all revenue to a fund that assists individuals and families financially to ensure they have access to our services. You may speak with one of our representatives about our benevolent program.

Yes and no. An overtly Christian medical practice whose purpose is to provide medical care to the Body of Christ is a first-of-its-kind in the United States, so in that respect, CHC is a new concept. The idea of medical care provided by direct pay is not. Prior to the employer-provided insurance model, all medical care was direct pay. A direct pay/membership model like CHC is a growing trend in healthcare right now. We encourage you to look at the following sites for further information:
dpcare.org
aapsonline.org
You can also look for articles that reference “cash based medical practices” or “direct pay care.”

Direct pay or cash based medical practices are recognized in the Affordable Care Act. Here is an interesting article about the Affordable Care Act and the current trends that we invite you to read forbes.com.