Last January, we abandoned traditional insurance & signed up with Zion Health, a nonprofit medical cost sharing program. Medical cost sharing programs offer a proven and effective alternative to health insurance and pair well with Direct Primary Care to decrease the total cost of health care. Now a year later, we want to share our personal experiences. While our experiences have not been perfect, we do plan to continue with them in 2022.
Dr. Haney: In 2021, CompassDirect Healthcare compared Zion to the most reasonable priced insurance plan we could find. Through Zion we were able to further decrease our coverage cost by 60%. In turn, it allowed us to keep our cost down for our patients and at the same time give our employees a much-deserved raise in pay. Zion's base rates are further reduced for a DPC member and even further reduced for DPC members if they are part of a business group plan. They do not have an annual or lifetime cap on sharing expenses nor provider/hospital network restrictions.
Aaron: The benefits of medical sharing ministries include substantial savings in insurance premiums and the opportunity to share in medical bill payment with other like-minded people who chose to live healthy. While this can be a blessing for a business owner, or a family, one needs to weigh the risks and benefits. One of the drawbacks are that they are still able to deny payment for preexisting conditions. This denial for payment is often on a graduated scale. Zion Health for example will pay $0 towards preexisting conditions in the first year after sign up, $25,000 in the 2nd year, $50,000 in the 3rd year and $125,000 in the 4th year with a cap at $125,000. If family members or employee’s have significant pre-existing conditions that may need attention in the near future this should be taken into account when choosing medical coverage.
Mary: In 2021, I experienced Zion Health on 2 levels... Excellence & Ease as well as Denial and Disappointment. The 1st experience was in regards to preventive health care; I had a screening mammogram and was able to submit the invoice to Zion without question. They paid the bill & their communication with me was excellent. My 2nd experience was a totally different story as I was denied coverage during this calendar year for what Zion Health determined to be a pre-existing condition. My frustration is that they determined my "need" to be pre-existing when in reality it was not.
Tami: I appreciate having something in place to cover unplanned serious illnesses and medical crises should they occur that doesn't cost the business an arm and a leg. With my primary medical care covered under my DPC membership at CompassDirect, it's rare for me to seek healthcare outside the walls of our building. The plan we set up with Zion Health covers some screening procedures such as mammograms, colonoscopies, and some immunizations. Due to a family medical history of colon cancer, I needed a screening colonoscopy this year. It was quick and easy to report this need to Zion Health and they promptly paid my gastroenterologist's office in full without any hassles. I do have an ongoing musculoskeletal issue that I've purposely put off until next year to deal with as I know Zion Health will treat it as pre-existing.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ZION HEALTH GO TO: https://zionhealth.org/dpc/?affiliate=170187