***NEWS RELEASE***
For Immediate Release
May 2, 2017
CONTACT:
Anna Price, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215.815.7716 or 610.584.1096, ext. 102
Christian Organizations Save Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars When Their Staff Members Use Samaritan Ministries
Health Care Sharing Not Only Improves the Bottom Line for Groups and Businesses, But Also Fosters Biblical Community Among Employees
PEORIA, Ill.—CEO Kevin Martin of World News Group, home to World Magazine, found a way to save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in health insurance costs.
But Martin says that wasn’t even the best part. He watched as his employees experienced more Biblical community once they transitioned to the health care sharing model through Samaritan Ministries International (samaritanministries.org), one of the leading health care sharing ministries in America.
Samaritan’s more than 69,000 member households (226,000 individuals) enjoy the refreshing opportunity to apply principles of New Testament living to 21st-century health care. The staffs of entire organizations can share one another’s medical needs in this direct-sharing, household-to-household, non-insurance approach.
“When I did the math a few years ago of what we were spending on insurance,” Martin said in a new Samaritan Ministries video, “I looked at what the corporation was spending and what the individuals were spending. We have a pretty small group here, but we were spending $600,000 on insurance. At some point, we just said, ‘Something’s gotta give here.’”
World began researching Samaritan Ministries, Martin recalled. An eye-opening moment for the CEO came as he was interviewing a potential new employee who was already a Samaritan member. Martin talked about the group insurance plan as one of the benefits of taking the job. “If it’s all the same,” the new employee said, “I’m just going to stay on Samaritan.” Martin asked the employee to tell him more about health care sharing, and specifically Samaritan, and said that after their conversation, his worries were laid to rest.
This employee eased Martin’s mind that, yes, his family’s medical bills were shared, but added that his new boss “was missing the coolest part.” His family received notes of encouragement and knew other Samaritan members were praying for them.
“I didn’t get how important that was,” Martin said in the video.
Today, World pays the monthly shares for all of its employees, cutting health care costs from $600,000 annually to $160,000. Previously, $400,000 had been paid by the employer and $200,000 paid by the employees. Today, World employees have nothing deducted from their paychecks for health care, and the organization is saving nearly a quarter of a million dollars in health care costs.
Martin also acknowledges that with the changing health care landscape, insurance costs may decrease in the future. But now, the process is about so much more than money at World. Employees are praying for other members, lifting them up through prayer and encouraging cards and letters, bearing one another’s burdens, just as the Bible instructs. And when they have medical needs, other Samaritan members do the same for them.
Samaritan members pay a monthly share of just $495 for a family of any size, while individuals pay $220 and couples pay $440 (and lesser amounts for adults under 26 years old).
“Samaritan Ministries membership can work well for organizations of various kinds, such as churches, ministries, Christian organizations or Christian-owned businesses,” said Anthony Hopp, Samaritan’s vice president of external relations. “Those searching for a better way to do health care discover that the Biblical community and the direct sharing of one another’s needs not only saves them money, but also fulfills the Bible’s teachings to bear one another’s burdens and creates a closer-knit, supportive Biblical community within the organization. And that is priceless.”
Today, Samaritan members share $24 million per month in medical needs, following the Bible’s teachings to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 | ESV).
Samaritan members in all 50 states share each other’s needs, are exempt from the government health care’s individual mandates and do not share in needs for unbiblical practices, such as abortion.
For more information on Samaritan Ministries International, visit www.samaritanministries.org, or follow the ministry on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Read more about Samaritan Ministries here.
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To interview a representative from Samaritan Ministries International, contact Anna Price, 610.584.1096, ext. 100, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com or Deborah Hamilton, 610.584.1096, ext. 102, or 215.815.7716.