What Are Sedera’s Membership Requirements?
If you are not yet a Sedera Member and are unfamiliar with the terms medical cost sharing or “healthshare,” Sedera has numerous resources that provide deep insight into this free market option for paying for medical care. In essence, Sedera is a Medical Cost Sharing Community that offers a non-insurance approach for managing large and unexpected medical expenses. But that’s just the beginning!
Sedera’s Medical Cost Sharing solution also provides affordability, price transparency, freedom of choice, and peace of mind when paying for healthcare. Plus, our Members experience dedicated hands-on support from our Member Advisors to help them navigate their healthcare as cash pay patients.
What is cash pay? Cash pay, or ‘self-pay” means paying for medical care without going through a 3rd party administrator. By being cash pay patients, Members generally experience significant discounts and a more personal relationship with their providers.
Being a cash pay patient does require learning how to be a savvy healthcare shopper, but Sedera Members find that the rewards of being in charge of their own healthcare decisions are huge. Sedera makes sure that Members are empowered to be their own advocates as cash pay patients.
Sedera Members belong to a Community of individuals who are active and engaged participants in their healthcare decision-making. They are dedicated to a healthy lifestyle and united by shared values.
Community Membership Guidelines
Sedera’s membership requirements are comprehensively detailed in the Membership Guidelines to help Members learn about the Community and understand their responsibilities as a Member. Sedera is inclusive and welcomes people from all walks of life who agree with and commit to the Ethical Beliefs and Principles included in the Member Guidelines.
Our sharing model is built on the legacy of the faith-based Medical Cost Sharing platform and we have a shared faith in the power of community. Sedera’s sharing model is inclusive, welcomes people from all walks of life, and has evolved to include some of the best innovations of the modern sharing economy. Together, Sedera Members are tapping the power of community to create a better way to pay for healthcare.
While Sedera is a non-insurance medical cost sharing solution to the high costs of healthcare, it’s important to understand that Sedera Members remain responsible for paying for their own healthcare costs. However, if these healthcare costs are shareable as agreed to and outlined in the Community’s Guidelines, the Community can share funds to help pay for those healthcare costs.
To become a Sedera Member, applicants must be under the age of 65 and agree to certain requirements during the application process. These requirements include agreeing to certain Ethical Beliefs and Principles, Member Commitments, and Community Commitments.
Community Principles of Membership
When applying for Membership, applicants must carefully read and agree to Sedera’s Member Principles and Commitments which include the 10 ethical beliefs and principles below. These beliefs and principles help protect all Members by, “assuring honor and integrity on the part of Members and by minimizing medical risks and ensuring proper accountability while encouraging good health practices.”
We share a faith in each other and in the strength of our Community.
We are committed to the idea of assisting one another, believing that strengthening the well-being of all humanity, both in the present and the future, is a virtuous pursuit. Moreover, we see it as our moral and ethical duty to willingly provide voluntary support to our fellow Community Members for their medical needs.
The fundamental belief within our Community is that we support one another by sharing in the medical cost burdens of fellow members whenever possible and when resources are available. This commitment is rooted in the principle of treating others as we would want to be treated, as articulated in the saying, "Do unto others as you would have them do to you."
Our Community is guided by principles that encourage generosity in every aspect, with the aim of producing gratitude. We are dedicated to acts of benevolence, charity, and missions, both domestically and globally. We accomplish these acts of social responsibility through volunteer work and financial contributions, all supported by the integrity, honesty, and personal accountability of our Community members.
We place a strong emphasis on personal accountability, as we believe that each member of the Community is responsible for being good stewards of our resources to strengthen the Community. We believe in living out our beliefs and principles in our daily lives, as they guide us in the responsibility we have towards our collective well-being.
We firmly believe that our bodies are precious, and it is our duty to honor them. This belief stems from the principle that we are entrusted with our well-being, and we strive to maintain our physical and mental health. As a result, we are committed to avoiding the consumption of illegal substances and refraining from engaging in dangerous, illegal, and unlawful activities. These actions not only have an adverse impact on us but also affect the well-being of our Community as a whole.
We are committed to the idea of maintaining good health as an essential part of our dedication. We strive for prosperity and well-being, mirroring the sentiment of valuing physical and mental health. To achieve this, we prioritize healthy practices, avoid harmful substances and addictive behaviors, and actively pursue a balanced and harmonious way of life.
We firmly believe it is our Community Members’ fundamental right to make our own health choices, and we believe in seeking guidance from knowledgeable healthcare professionals and advisors. We also believe in seeking spiritual guidance in making decisions about our health.
We fully embrace our fundamental rights, as provided and protected by the U.S. Constitution, to exercise our faith and values by coming together as a healthcare sharing ministry to bear each other’s medical burdens. We achieve this by commitment by directly and willingly sharing in the costs associated with our members’ healthcare. among our members. We strongly believe that our faith and values bring us together and that the shared accountability of our Community, allows for each individual to be supported by the Community with compassion.
Our Community believes in its collective ability to make educated, informed and knowledgeable consumer decisions that create value for themselves and the American healthcare system.
Sedera Member Commitments
In addition to the Ethical Beliefs and Principles, Members must agree to certain personal commitments including providing true and accurate answers during the application process. They attest that they have read and understand the guidelines and acknowledge that Sedera Medical Cost Sharing is not health insurance. Among other agreements, there are also Needs Sharing rules related to using “any form of illegal substances” and administrative agreements.
Sedera Community Commitments
Sedera Members agree to help support the Community by seeking value-driven, reasonably priced medical care. They are not just looking for a free market solution to the high costs of healthcare, they are also community-minded.
Members commit to finding the best, affordable care for themselves and understand that by being savvy healthcare shoppers they can help protect the financial health of the Sedera Community. Being community-minded when shopping for care helps ensure that more sharing dollars are available when needed by the Community.
Thus, Members use the extensive tools and resources provided by Sedera to shop for the best care, at the best value-driven pricing. By doing so, they help ensure that more funds are available to the Community for the sharing of medical Needs. For example, they can use Sedera’s cash pay marketplace to find cash-pay-friendly medical resources. They can also utilize Savvos, which is the nation’s largest cash pay marketplace.
CEO of Savvos Lou Morin recently said, “Savvos allows members to compare prices, connect with amazing quality providers all over the country, simplify the process of scheduling care, and engage in affordable solutions. We’re not the solution for primary care but if you’re looking to schedule outpatient surgery, imaging, or diagnostics such as colonoscopies or endoscopies, that’s where Savvos can have a tremendous impact.”
Medical cost sharing and pre-existing conditions
While Member health status has no effect on eligibility for membership, there are limitations on the sharing of Needs Cases for some conditions that existed prior to the membership effective date.
Members understand that no one is denied membership based on pre-existing medical conditions, but any conditions that existed prior to membership would not be shareable with the Community until certain membership longevity requirements are met. Before applying, please review the Guidelines for more information on pre-existing conditions and to understand if Sedera is a good fit for you.
Health sharing: A modern solution for a broken healthcare system
Early medical cost sharing communities set the foundation for the healthshare model when they came together to help each other with their financial burdens. What began in small, local communities, has grown exponentially as a part of a free market solution to a broken healthcare system.
Sedera is committed to providing a best-in-class medical cost sharing experience. We empower our Members to confidently navigate their healthcare as cash pay patients and provide extraordinary Member Services support.
Medical Cost Sharing is an amazing and affordable healthcare solution for some, but not for all. We suggest you read the Membership Guidelines to see if our Member Commitments and responsibilities resonate with you and your lifestyle. This will help you determine if Sedera Medical Cost Sharing is a good fit for you. If you have any questions, please contact us — we’re happy to provide answers and hope to welcome you to the Sedera Community!
The Sedera Medical Cost Sharing Community is not an insurance company and the Sedera Medical Cost Sharing membership is not issued or offered by an insurance company. Whether any Member chooses to send monetary assistance to you and/or your household to help with your medical expenses will be totally voluntary and neither you nor the Sedera Medical Cost Sharing Community has any right to compel payment of medical cost sharing costs from any Member or household. The Sedera membership is not and should never be considered to be or to be like a group insurance policy or an individual insurance policy.
