***News Release***
Millennials Choosing Affordable, Transparent and ‘Solution-Driven’ Health Care Sharing Ministries
One-Fourth of Samaritan Ministries Households Are Headed by Millennials
PEORIA, Ill.—Millennials think out of the box when it comes to many areas of their lives. It’s no different for how they approach health care.
For example, many forego visits to a primary care physician and instead choose walk-in or urgent care clinics. Likewise, millennials appreciate the “convenient and solution-driven” nature of on-demand health care, with shorter wait times, virtual telemedicine communication and clearer pricing models.
Samaritan Ministries International (samaritanministries.org), one of the leading health care sharing ministries in America, has witnessed more and more millennials becoming members of health care sharing ministries. In fact, a fourth of Samaritan’s households are headed by 23- to 38-year-olds.
“About 22,000 of the households that make up Samaritan’s 82,000 total households—approximately 268,000 individual members—are headed by millennials,” said Anthony Hopp, vice president of external relations for Samaritan Ministries. “Some millennial-aged members of Samaritan Ministries were born into health care sharing, and now many millennials are also choosing this Biblical and affordable method of health care for themselves. Millennials appreciate low-cost health care because few are experiencing many medical needs, they want hassle-free access to medical professionals and they want to be a part of treatment decisions and conversations about pricing. Health care sharing through Samaritan Ministries offers all that and more.”
Hopp added that millennials also take seriously where they spend their money and whether their contributions are part of the greater good. Through health care sharing with Samaritan, millennials and other members send their financial shares directly to other members, along with notes and cards of encouragement through this effective, God-honoring ministry.
Additionally, several features of the Samaritan health care sharing model appeal to millennials, such as an online dashboard, a resource to email a medical professional or chat 24/7 with a nurse, discounts for prescriptions and lab work, online scheduling with doctors and ways to research competitive pricing for services.
Each month, Samaritan’s growing Biblical community shares approximately $28 million in medical needs person-to-person. In fact, from 2007 through 2017, Samaritan Ministries members shared $1.2 billion in health care needs. The number of millennials who are joining Samaritan is growing as well. Since January 2017, about 28 percent of new member households are headed by millennials.
Samaritan’s monthly share has never exceeded $495 for a family of any size and is even less for two-person and single-person households. Many millennials and young families choose Samaritan Basic, which offers monthly financial shares starting at $100.
Millennial members say they chose Samaritan Ministries because of cost savings, the alignment with their beliefs and values, the ease and lack of stress, and feeling connected to a body of believers.
“I love that we get to be a part of a ministry of helping other believers and sharing in their burdens with them,” said Derah from Illinois. “And I love getting the opportunity to trust and rely on God through this unconventional means of health care.”
Likewise, Lauren from South Carolina said her first year as a Samaritan member was “very positive.”
“Even though I haven’t had to share any health needs so far, it’s been a privilege and joy to share in meeting the needs of other brothers and sisters in Christ.” Lauren said. “This, to me, is much more special than mailing off an insurance check to a large corporation every month. With Samaritan, I get to participate in prayer and hear what God is doing!”
Learn more about Samaritan Ministries International here; visit the Samaritan website at www.samaritanministries.org, or follow the ministry on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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