Greetings everyone, I do hope things are going well for you! I am feeling much better
thanks to God and to Samaritan Ministries.
In my last post, I explained what had happened to me suddenly regarding
my blood pressure. I have been treated
a few times now by my Doctor and she has adjusted my medications to where they
are working great. I am taking more walks these days and know that complete healing is right around the corner!
Now, I want to
explain that I had just joined Samaritan Ministries in
January and then my health issues began
the following month, in February. I had
great health coverage through Group Health for years and when Obamacare rolled
out, my premium to Group Health went from $200 to $700. I simply could not afford that. Besides, I wasn’t working either.
So, in this post I wanted to explain to you just what
Samaritan Ministries means to me and what it actually is. For sure it is not a “health insurance”
company. It’s a group of members who
share each others needs, they explain a need as a medical expense when you have
to go and see the doctor for something that is unexpected. For instance a yearly physical would not be a
need, but just an expense I would have to pay. So when I had the emergency room
visit I called Samaritan Ministries and explained what had happened to me. They published that need and forwarded on to
me the paperwork that I needed to submit with all the bills.
All during the time I was receiving all the bills for my
treatments a have to admit I had a little doubt that this new health plan may
not work. I quickly would erase those
thoughts and remember what God says, which is to believe and trust in Him, so I
did just that. After all the bills had
finally arrived I filled out the forms, wrote a letter explaining my situation. It does require a little more work on our
part, but it is so worth it. I even had
to go to my church leader and he had to also verify a few things about my
membership there at our church. Once I
had all the necessary documents I prayed, then sent it off to them. Again, believing God, it would be taken care
of. I had also called the
hospital and some of the other places to see if I could get a discount. I did get a slight discount for paying the
hospital emergency room off within 30 days,
I just used my credit card. Also on the blood work I had done at LabCorp,
they discounted the lab tests by 50%, I was shocked when I heard that but was
very grateful for it. Another thing
thing about Samaritan Ministries, they have advocates that will also call on
your doctor or hospital to try and get the amounts reduced for you, with your
permission of course.
I will try and explain just how the sharing and needs work
at Samaritan Ministries. Their
organization has over 45,000 members and each pay a share. For instance, in my case, since it’s only me
because my husband still has insurance and Medicare, my share is $180 each
month. I believe a couple would be $360
a month. God’s word encourages us to help each other out, it’s a biblical principal. Every month when individuals send in a need
to Samaritan Ministries they publish it in a newsletter so that others can pray
for them. Then they will send out
statements to each of us letting us know where to send our monthly share. When all the checks finally came in that particular
month for my need, I was excited and just thanked God for this ministry, it
worked! I also received many cards and
prayers with those checks which blessed me each and every day I opened the mailbox.
The other thing I need to mention is that the
first $300 is your portion for each need that you have, for instance,
my total bill was $3680 but I received only $3380 from others shares. There are a few other medical procedures that
they do not allow as needs such as physicals or abortions so you need to check
the website for more information, if you are interested.
You also receive a list of the individuals who are going to
send you money so you can add the date, amount and check number of the money
received and send off to Samaritan. You
can do this by mail or on the website. It’s
a great check and balances for them.
I give glory to God in all this and thank each and every
individual who sent me a note of encouragement.
It sure meant a lot to me. Everyone I talked to at Samaritan Ministries was always so helpful and concerned for my well being, they were such a blessing to me. This ministry may not be for everyone, but for me, it’s exactly what I needed at the
time. If it is something you might be
interested in here is the website: www.samaritanministries.org
Love ya!
