Compare & Review Health Insurance Plans & Alternative Health Insurance options for 2026

💳 Self-Pay Explained: How It Works with Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM)

Some people worry that negotiating medical discounts as a self-pay patient might be a hassle. It’s not. In fact, it’s often easier and more transparent than dealing with insurance.

Here’s how we’ve done it successfully for years:

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🏥 How to Request a Self-Pay Discount with CHM and Medi-Share in 2026

• Tell your doctor’s office or hospital you are a self-pay patient

• Mention you’re a member of a Christian health cost sharing ministry (CHM)

• Ask if they offer a self-pay discount—most facilities already have one in place

• Many providers are happy to offer discounts since they don’t have to deal with insurance paperwork

• Set up a payment plan while waiting for your reimbursement from CHM. For my hospital bills I setup $100 monthly payment and ended up only paying one or two of those (it takes the hospital time to get a bill to you and then it took me a week to get to them, so at least 1 month went by before the first payment. By the time I've made the second payment, my CHM checks started to roll in).

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📅 Real-Life Example Reimbursement Example with CHM: ER Visit for Kidney Stones

In 2018, I went to the ER for a kidney stone. I told the hospital I was self-pay, and they immediately offered a $450 flat rate for the hospital portion. I later received separate bills from the ER doctor and for a CAT scan.

Each provider had a self-pay discount policy already in place, and my total bill dropped from over $6,000 to just $1,300.

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I submitted everything through CHM’s online portal which was super easy. Since I had the Gold Plan and my total bills exceeded the $1,250 threshold (QA), I was reimbursed 100%—about $1,300, two months later.

 

✅ CHM Reimbursed Me For:

• ER visit

• ER doctor

• CAT scan

• Lab work

• Medication given at the ER

• Prescription medication

• Follow-up visit with the urologist

• X-ray ordered by the urologist

Nothing was left unpaid. CHM truly came through for us.

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💡 Note: As of 2025, the Gold Plan includes a $1,250 annual Personal Responsibility. However, there are ways to reduce this to $0—ask us how.

 

 

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