When Diane Rhodes and her family joined Medi-Share 25 years ago, there was a touch of hesitancy in the decision. After all, the ministry had only been around for five short years. Diane recalls, “Our main concern when we joined Medi-Share was: Is this a fly-by-night thing?”
Decades later, she’s so glad they decided to take that initial leap of faith.
Leonard and Diane Rhodes heard about Medi-Share through their homeschool community in West Monroe, Louisiana. Though they had enjoyed the blessing of great health up until that point, with four children at home it seemed prudent to join a healthcare sharing community — just in case.
“It was a little scary,” Diane admits. They worried about whether or not the sharing model could really be counted on. And with Medi-Share being so new, they wondered if it had the staying power to last for the long haul.
Over the next few years, Diane and her family slowly began to build trust in the Medi-Share ministry. Nothing big happened. But as they utilized Medi-Share for what could be considered normal healthcare expenses, the sharing program worked exactly the way it was supposed to. Each bill that was shared helped Diane and Leonard relax and feel better about their decision to join.
Then, in 2006, Diane’s doctor diagnosed her with breast cancer. At this point, her trust in Medi-Share was really put to the test. Sure, healthcare sharing was great for a few sinus infections here and there. But would their sharing community come through when there was a big health issue on the line?
The answer was “yes” — Medi-Share turned out to be more than Diane had hoped for. “I just can’t express enough how easy it all was,” she says.
Through the necessary surgery, chemo, and radiation, she never had a problem with bills or sharing. Today, she’s fully recovered and attributes that in large part to the fact that she was able to have surgery performed by one of the best doctors in her area.
Diane goes on to relate another instance when Medi-Share came through for her family.
Leonard was set to have knee surgery in March of 2020 and at the time, Medi-Share opted to use a pre-negotiation program where the doctors and medical facilities were paid upfront. “Once [the Medi-Share representative] called, it was all settled,” Diane says, and they went into surgery with complete peace of mind.
Little did they know that would be the exact timing of the national COVID-19 shutdown. “I just remember everyone was talking about toilet tissue,” Diane says. “We had no idea what was going on because my husband had been in surgery.”
In the days and weeks following, things in the healthcare industry grew chaotic to say the least, and some providers sent out a few bills by mistake — the prepaid negotiation should have meant that there was nothing more to pay after surgery. But instead of Diane having to call and fight with the billing departments, Medi-Share advocated on her behalf. In fact, her Medi-Share representative allowed her to text directly any time a rogue bill popped up; he would then call her provider’s billing department and explain that everything was already paid in full.
“We’ve been very happy,” Diane says, regarding the family’s long Medi-Share experience. Now she and Leonard are on the Medi-Share 65+ program, a program that works in harmony with Medicare Parts A and B. She also takes advantage of member prescription discounts and telehealth services through MDLive at no additional cost.
Overall, the Rhodes family has nothing but positive things to say about Medi-Share. In fact, Diane now has two grown daughters who are a part of Medi-Share, as well as several friends who have joined due to their glowing recommendation.
“I love the fact that everyone is so caring and they pray with you if you need them to,” Diane says. “I’ve never had someone not answer a question or not been able to lead me to the right information.”
In the past, Diane has been asked to switch to other healthcare sharing companies, but she has refused every time. “We are very loyal to Medi-Share,” she says. After all, when something has worked well for their family for 25 years, why switch to something that’s unknown?
We’re so grateful for the Rhodes family and the decades of partnership they’ve shared within our ministry. Without legacy members like Diane and Leonard, Medi-Share wouldn’t be as successful and impactful as it is today.
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