Choosing a Medical Cost Sharing Community? Here’s What You Should Ask

Medical Cost Sharing, the sharing of large medical needs with a community of individuals who share similar ethical or religious beliefs has experienced exponential growth in recent years. Medical Cost Sharing can be a good fit for many individuals and families, promoting price and product transparency across the healthcare landscape and eliminating administrative red tape and surprise billing. It’s no shock that consumers and businesses are catching on. 

With this increased demand, more and more organizations that facilitate Medical Cost Sharing are entering the market. When evaluating Medical Cost Sharing Communities, the number of options can be daunting, especially because not all these organizations are created equal.

Want to see if a Community is trustworthy, reputable, and a good fit? Considering asking these important questions:  

1. What principles unite that specific Medical Cost Sharing Community?

Medical Cost Sharing Communities are just that — communities. As with any chosen community, it is important to find a group that aligns with your values and principles. Historically, many HCSMs only allow members of a certain religion or denomination to be a part of their community — effectively excluding those that support the model, but just don’t happen to be of the same faith. Sedera’s approach to Medical Cost Sharing welcomes people from all walks of life. Our ethical principles allow Members with a shared faith in the power of community and a desire to help one another come together to access personal, affordable, and flexible healthcare options.

When introducing potential new members to the Sedera Medical Cost Sharing Community, we always lead with our vision and emphasize its importance to our everyday work. Sedera’s core values are imperative to the vision: As solution shapers who are intentionally not status quo, we believe in the best idea in the room, no matter who it came from. As community builders and health champions, we care for each other’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health through generosity and the sharing of burdens. And because we view everything through the lens of being rooted in love, we don’t hesitate to slow down, reflect, adapt, and change if what we do does not promote wellness and connectedness for our Community.

These principles are central to a multitude of religions and ethical values systems, and they guide everything we do. Above all else, we strive to educate and empower our Members to be engaged participants in their healthcare decision-making and promote living healthy lives. We hope our core values can touch as many lives and families as possible.

2. How established is the Community?

Experience matters. Before choosing a community, you should be confident that it has the experience, knowledge, and a strong leadership team with clear direction. The best Medical Cost Sharing Communities take the time and initiative to invest in their people, platform, and policies. 

Sedera has an experienced leadership team that prioritizes our Member experience and has a strategy for navigating hurdles and advocating for industry best practices. Our leadership team continues to chart new territory carefully and responsibly to ensure that the disruption to the healthcare status quo results in a sustainable path forward. 

On the ground, this is evidenced by our commitment to transforming the patient experience through education and innovative services. This includes tools and resources, such as our Cash Pay Marketplace and Direct Primary Care Finder, which help empower our Members to be savvy healthcare shoppers. 

Thanks to our Members’ commitment to balancing personal healthcare choices with the impact on the broader Community, Sedera has fully shared every need that meets our sharing guidelines.* Every decision we make is informed by our ongoing dialogue with our Community Members and other stakeholders.

3. How does the Medical Cost Sharing Community handle sharing and ensure that all funds are being used responsibly?

Sharing guidelines and the means of facilitating sharing provide critical insight into a community’s values and commitment to financial accountability.

For example, many communities pool sharing dollars into a single account or trust managed by the sharing community or a contracted entity, making it difficult for members to determine if the community is sharing according to its guidelines or handing over ownership of those dollars to another interest. This mixing of member funds can make it difficult to understand where sharing dollars are going.

By contrast, other communities have invested in secure sharing platforms that enable direct sharing and allow for transparent reporting on the sources of all funds, administrative costs and fees, and how the total qualified needs are calculated according to sharing guidelines.

Sedera, for example, partnered with a bank to establish a fintech platform that uses individual Medical Cost Sharing accounts to facilitate the sharing process. Members make monthly contributions to the Sedera Community that are held in dedicated savings accounts used exclusively for Medical Cost Sharing.

4. How does the Medical Cost Sharing Community actively protect against consumer confusion related to sharing?

Medical Cost Sharing is not insurance, and consumers need to be actively aware of the differences. The best sharing communities go to great lengths to ensure that potential members are fully educated about the differences before they join the Community.

Sedera believes that sharing communities have an obligation to make sure that potential members are familiarized with what sharing is, and even more importantly, what it is not. The Sedera Community will continue to lead with integrity and a Member-centric approach, using every opportunity to create points of differentiation. Sedera facilitates sharing, but it doesn’t pay providers directly, and Members always remain ultimately responsible for their medical bills. 

Sedera’s Certified Affiliates are required to participate in a training and education program and pass an exam before being allowed to offer Sedera. In all collateral, Sedera requires the separation of the Medical Cost Sharing component from any other products that affiliates present to potential members, to further eliminate the possibility for confusion. 

Education campaigns are designed to help Sedera Community Members become engaged and savvy healthcare consumers. Our professional Member Services Team provides the tools and expertise to support Members throughout the process. Our goal is for Sedera Members to commit to leading healthy lifestyles and actively work with the broader Sedera Community in exchange for the cost savings associated with the Medical Cost Sharing model. 

Final Thoughts

Sedera models excellence by pioneering this unique healthcare option for individuals and families who are ready to take charge of their medical expenses, with an eye toward creating a secure, responsible, and consumer-centric framework that will pave the path for additional market entrants. 

You can learn more about how Sedera Medical Cost Sharing works here and about how to become a Sedera Certified Affiliate. 

*This statement is not intended and should not be construed as a representation that Sedera is operating in a financially sound manner or that it has a successful history of meeting Members’ medical costs.