For an example of how most of these cost-sharing plans go, see this article on the implosion of a commercial plan that preyed on the Mennonites of southern Ohio: https://www.propublica.org/article/liberty-healthshare-healt... Amish economics are weird, because the deep aversion to debt tends to create winner-take-all scenarios: an Amish farmer might become wealthy from mineral and gas rights on his property, for exam…
Health care sharing ministries have existed since the early 1900s, primarily among Mennonites and the Amish. The idea was simple: Members chip in what they can to help cover a neighbor’s costs when someone breaks a leg, say, or falls ill. It was the financial equivalent of a potluck dinner, with everyone contributing something to the table and sharing the spread.
Few outside those communities knew or cared that health care sharing ministries existed. They were tiny, didn’t advertise for new members and posed no threat to corporate insurance. Most importantly, no one envisioned making money from a ministry.