Refuah Healthshare as Catastrophic Insurance?

amother

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 3:53 pm

I'm no longer eligible for insurance under the marketplace. Health insurance premiums are INSANE. I'm wondering if anyone is happy under a healthshare. Can I consider it catastrophic insurance? I'd rather pay doctor visits out of pocket than hell expensive premiums. The problem is if ch'v one needs coverage beyond that - would a healthshare be helpful in the event of catastrophe?

amother

Oxfordblue

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 5:48 pm

I know plenty of people on it and frankly I cant afford medical insurance either so I went with that too.

I would rather not go into debt paying a medical insurance premium monthly for a maybe chas vesholom situation. If god forbid something were to happen and insurance became and issue I can always go into debt later. Just explaining this reasoning. Not sure why there is such a huge fear of being without medical insurance vs being in debt

amother

Lotus

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 5:52 pm

To be honest if ch"v someone needed that much medical care, they would probably be eligible for insurance through a tzedakah organization. And odds are that in such a case a run of the mill private health plan wouldn't cover the specific doctors needed anyway.

amother

Thistle

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 6:30 pm

amother Lotus wrote:

I disagree with this. Tzedakah organizations have criteria on what they will help for and that may be for specific diagnosis or other specific criteria. If you have a private plan from the big insurance carriers (Blue Cross, Aetna etc) with national coverage you should be good with just about any doctor you want to see unless they don't take any insurance at all. Obviously those plans are expensive. I wouldn't consider a healthshare the same as a catastrophic plan being that they will have more leeway over what they will cover and less you can do about it if they deny coverage. This doesn't mean you shouldn't go with it, and it may be the best option for you. Just be sure you know exactly what you are signing up for.

amother

Ebony

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 7:20 pm

I don't have refuah but I do have another healthshare, the cap is 1 million per incident which is pretty hard to reach. After being on it for a few years we discovered my husband's kidney disease and they covered everything, very expensive specialists and procedures in Manhattan with zero copays. He then needed a transplant and that too was covered (a transplant is 500,000, so under 1 million cap). Also, with other insurance we would be limited to in-state or in-network, with healthshare we get to choose which facility and which doctor and if they don't participate I can file with healthshare and get 100% reimbursement (after deductible of 2250 per family)

I do not regret switching from traditional insurance that was costing me a fortune and not covering fully, with huge deductibles and copays....

In the event that something does crop up you can always get insurance then, insurance cannot be denied for pre-existing conditions anymore.

amother

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 9:22 pm

amother Ebony wrote:

Wow, would you mind sharing which healthshare you're on? Is it Liberty?

amother

Apricot

Wed, Jul 05 2023, 9:29 am

I heard that if someone on Refuah is diagnosed with something major then they manage it internally by taking out an insurance policy for him (and he just pays the refuah premiums). Not sure if it's true.

amother

Wed, Jul 05 2023, 9:40 am

amother Apricot wrote:

And what about an accident?

amother

Pear

Wed, Jul 05 2023, 9:50 am

We have refuah health share for a few years and I absolutely recommend it. They pay for everything. My daughter was diagnosed with a minor heart condition while on it and they paid for everything including the heart surgery. Paying insurance fees makes no sense anymore imo. The only thing the health share doesn't cover is medications.