***NEWS RELEASE***
For Immediate Release
April 25, 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
Samaritan Ministries Helps Members to be Good Stewards of Their Health Care Resources
Health Care Sharing Ministry Equips More than 69,000 Member
Households to Research Health Care Costs
PEORIA, Ill.—Wouldn’t it be nice if doctors and clinics posted their fees for services right outside their offices, much like gas prices that are clearly communicated to drivers? If only health care was this transparent.
The fact is that health care costs for the same services and procedures vary widely from doctor to doctor, hospital to hospital and even city to city. To assist its nearly 226,000 individual members navigate the sometimes intimidating world of health care costs, Samaritan Ministries International (samaritanministries.org), one of the leading health care sharing ministries in America, helps the member households embark on an educational journey that empowers them to be better stewards when it comes to health care expenses.
“Many around the country simply take health care costs at face value, not realizing they have options,” said Anthony Hopp, Samaritan Ministries’ vice president of external relations. “But actually, not every practice charges the same amount for the same procedure or service. Americans have been engrained for so long that ‘this is just the way it is’ that they’ve forgotten they have personal choice in their health care, as well as a role in ensuring they are good stewards of their resources when it comes to health care expenses.”
Samaritan Ministries is educating its members on facts about health care expenses, such as that costs for the same procedure or treatment can vary up to 400 percent, even in the same city. Samaritan also provides ways for members to research differing health care costs in their area through the online tool Healthcare Bluebook.
Dr. Jeff Price comments about one of Samaritan’s stewardship education tools: “When my 12-year-old son needed an outpatient foot surgery, I checked prices at two different facilities just three blocks apart. One of them charged $1500 and the other from $15,000 to $25,000! This happens every day to patients all across the United States.”
Samaritan also reminds members that the ministry does not offer medical advice and that members are free to visit any licensed doctor or facility for care.
“Because all of us strive to be good stewards of the resources God has provided, it’s important to ‘shop around,’” Hopp added, “but Samaritan does not place any restrictions on members in regards to where they choose to receive medical care.”
Samaritan members share $24 million each 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). Currently, Samaritan members pay a monthly share of only $495 for a family of any size, while individuals pay $220 and couples pay $440.
Members also pray and include personal notes and cards of encouragement with the financial shares they send directly to other Samaritan families each month.
Learn more about Samaritan Ministries International here; visit the Samaritan website atwww.samaritanministries.org, or follow the ministry on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
###
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.