How Christian Health Shares Like netWell™ Are Changing Health Care

Healthcare has needed an overhaul for years.

For many families, the system feels increasingly complicated, expensive and difficult to navigate. Between rising costs, shifting plans and uncertainty about access, what should feel like care often feels like carrying a burden alone.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) represented a major overhaul of the healthcare system meant to address longstanding issues, but many of the deeper challenges remain unresolved.

Out of these challenges, something different has been taking shape through Christian Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs).

How HCSMs are Reshaping Healthcare

Christian HCSMs reflect a familiar principle: people supporting one another in times of need.

Health care sharing is not new, but it has evolved over the past decade into a more structured approach, with today’s programs offering greater access, stability and support than earlier versions.

What was once seen as a limited alternative has become a practical option for individuals and families seeking greater value in their healthcare that aligns with their personal values. With netWell, for example, members do not wait for reimbursement for doctor visits or hospital stays when choosing an in-network provider. And how big is that network? Aetna’s First Health® PPO is one of the largest provider networks in the nation, and netWell members have full access to those same providers. There’s no worry about “Will my HCSM card be accepted?” because acceptance is built into the network itself. 

Coupled with the large network of providers, netWell has also partnered with top names like Labcorp and Goodbill to open doors nationwide for help with medical labs and medical bill advocacy.

Top Benefits of netWell as an Alternative to Traditional Insurance

netWell™ is a leading example of this modern health care sharing model, offering members practical tools, nationwide access and support designed for real-world healthcare needs, including: 

Availability 

Members have access to nationwide provider networks through participation in Aetna’s First Health® PPO, allowing many members to keep their doctor and local hospitals. Traveling across the U.S. is less worrisome too, with no fear of being forced into “out-of-network” care during emergencies or urgent clinic visits.

netWell also offers always-open enrollment, with no qualifying life event required, so members can join when it makes sense for them rather than waiting for traditional enrollment windows.

Broad Partnerships

netWell connects members with established healthcare service providers, including Labcorp for nationwide lab testing and the revive® Prescription Benefit Program for medication savings.

Through partnerships with Bento, netWell also offers members discounted dental care through netWell™ Dental, helping support preventive, restorative and orthodontic needs at a reduced cost.

Support When It Matters Most

Medical billing is often complex and hard to interpret. Members have access to Goodbill, which helps review and negotiate hospital bills after a medical event, regardless of whether a claim is shareable. Goodbill brings clarity to that process, identifying potential savings and helping ensure members are not facing large medical bills alone.

Built Around Community and Shared Responsibility

At the center of health sharing is a simple idea: people supporting one another.

As Scripture reminds us, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

Members come together in faith and community to help share eligible medical expenses, creating a model rooted in compassion, stewardship and mutual support.

For netWell members, that means:

• A more personal approach
• Support rooted in faith and compassion
• Greater flexibility and simplicity
• More predictable healthcare costs
• A nonprofit model focused on people, not profit 

netWell President and CEO Bob Malone spent years as an executive in the traditional healthcare industry and saw firsthand how often profits and corporate processes took priority over people. That experience shaped his passion for doing things differently.

Under Bob’s leadership, netWell continues to focus on a more compassionate approach to healthcare, one designed to serve members through community, support and stewardship rather than corporate bureaucracy.

Because healthcare should never lose sight of the people who depend on it.

A More Human Approach to Healthcare

At a time when healthcare can feel uncertain, impersonal and overwhelming, netWell offers a different path forward: a model centered on community, where people share one another’s burdens and care for each other through life’s challenges.

Grounded in faith and compassion, this approach reflects a more human way to experience healthcare.

If you’re looking for a different way to think about healthcare, see what community-based care can look like with netWell.

Visit netWell.com or give us a call at 1-866-NETWELL to learn more about health care sharing and your membership options with netWell.