What Is a Sharing Request? A Simple Guide for Future EverTrust Members
One of the most important concepts to understand when exploring a health sharing community is the idea of a Sharing Request. Because health sharing works differently from traditional insurance, the process may feel unfamiliar at first. Instead of filing an “insurance claim,” members submit medical expenses to the community as a Sharing Request. Understanding how this process works is one of the best ways to understand how healthcare sharing itself works.
What Is a Sharing Request?
A Sharing Request is the process by which members submit eligible medical expenses for community consideration. When a member experiences a qualifying medical expense, such as an illness, injury, surgery, emergency room visit, maternity need, or other eligible healthcare event, the related medical bills are grouped together and submitted for review. They can be shared if it appears the expenses exceed the members’ Member Responsibility Amount (MRA). Unlike traditional insurance, where a company processes claims behind the scenes, health sharing communities operate through established Membership Guidelines that determine how medical expenses are reviewed and shared among members. This creates a more transparent and community-driven process.
How Is It Different Than Insurance?
In traditional insurance, most people are used to presenting an insurance card and allowing providers to bill the insurance company directly. With health sharing, members typically present as self-pay patients. This often leads to more transparent pricing and allows members to access lower self-pay rates that may cost less than insurance-negotiated pricing. After care is received, eligible medical expenses are submitted to the sharing community through a Sharing Request.
Rather than functioning as a traditional insurance claim, the Sharing Request process focuses on:
- Reviewing whether expenses align with the Membership Guidelines
- Organizing medical documentation and billing
- And determining what expenses may be eligible for sharing by the community
What Types of Expenses Are Usually Included?
A Sharing Request may include expenses related to:
- Emergency room visits
- Hospitalizations
- Surgeries
- Specialist care
- Imaging and diagnostics
- Maternity expenses
- Illnesses and injuries
- Other eligible medical events
Multiple bills related to the same medical expense are grouped into a single Sharing Request.
For example, if a member breaks their arm, the Sharing Request may include:
- Urgent care or emergency room visit
- Imaging such as X-rays
- Orthopedic follow-up appointments
- Related treatment connected to that injury
What Happens Before Sharing Begins?
Members are responsible for meeting their selected Member Responsibility Amount, or MRA, before sharing begins on eligible medical needs. The MRA functions similarly to a deductible, but within a cooperative sharing model rather than an insurance contract. Once eligible expenses related to a medical incident exceed the member’s MRA, additional eligible expenses may become shareable according to the Membership Guidelines.
Why Members Are Encouraged to Be Proactive
One of the biggest differences in a health sharing community is that members are encouraged to take a more active role in healthcare decisions before care happens. That may include:
- Comparing pricing before scheduling procedures
- Using independent imaging centers instead of hospitals
- Requesting Good Faith Estimates
- Exploring self-pay discounts
- Or starting with virtual guidance through Amaze Health before entering the healthcare system
This is not about avoiding care. It is about helping members navigate healthcare more intentionally and avoid unnecessary costs whenever possible. Because members are part of a cooperative community, thoughtful healthcare decisions help both the individual member and the broader community as a whole.
A Simple Example
Imagine a member wakes up with severe abdominal pain and visits the emergency room. After evaluation, imaging, and testing, they are diagnosed with appendicitis and require surgery.
Over the following weeks, the member may receive bills from the hospital, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, imaging providers, and follow-up care providers. Rather than simply forwarding those bills to an insurance company, the member organizes the expenses and submits them as a Sharing Request. Once the Member Responsibility Amount is met and the expenses are reviewed according to the Membership Guidelines, eligible expenses may be shared by the community.
What Makes the Process Different
Health sharing is designed to create more transparency and involvement in healthcare decisions. Members are encouraged to understand where care is received, how much services cost, what alternatives may exist, and how healthcare decisions affect them and the community overall. For many people, this creates a healthcare experience that feels more understandable and connected than traditional insurance.
How EverTrust Supports Members
While health sharing requires more participation than traditional insurance, members are not expected to navigate the process alone. EverTrust provides support through:
- Amaze for healthcare guidance and navigation
- The EverTrust Advocacy Team for billing and provider support
- Self-pay healthcare resources
- Educational tools that help members understand how to use healthcare more effectively
The goal is to help members make informed decisions before care happens and create a simpler, more transparent healthcare experience overall.
Final Thought
A Sharing Request is a core part of how a health sharing community functions. Rather than relying on an insurance company to manage everything behind the scenes, members participate more actively in the process while still receiving support, guidance, and access to community sharing for eligible medical expenses. For many people exploring health sharing for the first time, understanding the Sharing Request process clarifies what makes the model different and why more individuals and families are seeking alternatives to traditional healthcare systems.