With eleven kids in their family, Carrie Ayers and her husband are certainly extra blessed — and extra busy! But when it comes to any health issues, the Ayers are confident their decision to choose Medi-Share will never cause extra stress. In fact, one word pops up continually as she talks about her Medi-Share experience: Easy.
Easy Home Births
Carrie and her family joined Medi-Share in 2011. She was initially drawn to the program because she wanted to have a home birth, and insurance would not cover that decision. Since Medi-Share supports a home birth option, she signed up.
“It was a seamless process,” Carrie says. “I was able to connect with my midwife easily and never really had any problems.” Over the following few years, she actually had three home births with Medi-Share. Each one was stress-free, both during the experience and in processing shared bills afterward.
Easy Health Care Access
Of course, the Ayers’ Medi-Share story doesn’t stop with those home births. Overall, Carrie says that she’s grateful their family has enjoyed mostly good health. But of course, with eleven children, there are always some health needs that will come up.
For example, Carrie relates an instance when her son had an issue with his cheek, which was related to sleep apnea. At first, it seemed it might be a pre-existing condition. However, when she wrote a letter explaining the situation fully, Medi-Share determined it was eligible for sharing. “I was so thankful that Medi-Share is so open to the Holy Spirit and the needs of a specific family,” she says.
In another instance, the Ayers family had recently made a cross-country move when their daughter fell and broke her arm. Carrie needed to secure doctors and physical therapists for her daughter in an unfamiliar place, but she encountered no problems at all with finding new in-network specialists. “There were no hiccups,” she says. “Never a problem.”
Easy on the Finances
With a full brood, finances in the Ayers family obviously have to be well-planned. Carrie says that in the beginning, they chose a low Annual Household Portion and paid more in sharing each month.
But as they ran the numbers, they came to the conclusion that a higher AHP is better for them. Carrie explains, “We figured out that either way, we’re going to spend about $14,000 per year.” That includes their monthly sharing obligation and their out-of-pocket expenses before the AHP is met.
With that figure in mind, the Ayers decided it was best to save on their monthly sharing bill in hopes that maybe they wouldn’t have as many health issues annually that would require out-of-pocket spending. Switching plans and budgeting accordingly was, again, easy!
Carrie adds, “I’m always so pleased with the discount.” Even on bills where they do need to pay out-of-pocket, the negotiated discount always helps the bottom line feel manageable.
Easy on the Heart
When reflecting on why they joined Medi-Share in the first place, Carrie says that it went beyond just her desire for a home birth. “We were drawn to the fact that our money wouldn’t be used for things that didn’t represent our beliefs.”
In fact, when Carrie’s husband took a new job with good benefits, the family didn’t end up opting into the employer’s insurance package. “We didn’t even consider switching because we love Medi-Share so much. We didn’t want to leave the community.”
She goes on to say, “And I love that whenever I call, they ask, ‘Can I pray for you?’ I think that’s beautiful. I love that my money is going to support other Christians and not support lifestyles that aren’t pleasing to God.”
Now, the Ayers have four adult children out on their own. Two of them have their own jobs and insurance and two have chosen to stay with Medi-Share for the time being. The program has become familial to them, offering peace of mind as they make their own way into health care decisions.
“It’s so easy,” Carrie says again in summary. “Medi-Share has been amazing for us, and I recommend it to anyone who asks. I’m so grateful and feel very blessed.”
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