Raleigh family on the hook for $41,000 when medical cost-sharing plan slips up
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Raleigh family was initially stiffed by a company that was supposed to help cover their health care costs.
When Troubleshooter Diane Wilson got involved, the check cleared.
The bills started piling up when Meredith Bryan gave birth to her youngest child, Rhett.
"I can't be on the hook for $41,000 in medical bills," Bryan said.
She said she had been struggling to get the bills paid since she found out she was pregnant with Rhett.
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"When we started submitting claims in December of 2022, we realized were not hearing back, nothing is getting paid," Bryan said.
The Bryans have Share Healthcare. It's not health insurance; instead, it's a medical cost-sharing ministry.
"So we pay monthly, just like with an insurance company, but you share the funds with expenses around like all the members," Bryan said.
Bryan said she was up-to-date on all her payments to Share Healthcare. She even paid the required fee the coverage said she had to pay for her pregnancy, but when it came to getting Share Healthcare to pay the portion of the bills, the claims were left unpaid.
Bryan said she contacted Share Healthcare several times but was told the company was working on it. Meanwhile, she started to get past-due notices on several bills.
"The creditors aren't going to come after them. They're going to come after me. So I have to set up a payment plan and pay," Bryan said.
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Worried the bills would not get paid, Bryan got in touch with Wilson.
"I should rest easy at night that when I pay a monthly bill and pay an insurance company to cover medical expenses, I should have faith that you should cover that, especially a Christian-based company," Bryan said.
Wilson got in touch with a representative of Share Healthcare. He said when Bryan first contacted Share Healthcare in October, the timeline for sharing, negotiating and then paying a member's bills was excessively long due to the company suddenly losing one of its critical vendors.
He added if the bill lacks the proper codes or necessary information to determine the amount that would be shared, that could also cause delays. It took several months and a lot of back and forth with Share Healthcare, but finally Bryan got the confirmation that all of Rhett's bills were paid.
Bryan emailed Wilson saying, "Hallelujah, the check finally cleared!"
Share Healthcare also added it has corrected and shortened its timeline of sharing claims and getting bills paid. The company hopes to get it back to the 17-day average turnaround that it once had.
