When Joan Hatrak found out she had breast cancer, she and her husband Michael turned to their faith — not just for spiritual support, but for payment of medical expenses. The Hatraks belong to MediShare, a religious non-profit group whose members help pay each other’s major medical bills.

“Because it’s a Christian organization, there is almost more of a security in it,” Michael Hatrak said.

“The concept is to bring like-minded individuals, Christians, who choose to share their medical bills, the burdens in their life,” said Tony Meggs, MediShare’s executive vice-president for ministry development.

The Melbourne, Florida-based organization has nearly 50 thousand members across the country. Each pays a monthly fee, based on age and family size and assumes the cost of routine checkups and prescriptions. But MediShare distributes funds to other members when major medical expenses arise.

“Things like broken legs, cancer or a car accident — those are burdens,” Meggs said. “Those are the types of medical expenses that the membership shares in.”

Meggs said MediShare has seen an influx of new members since federal health care reform legislation passed. Members of faith-based health care sharing programs are exempt from the federal mandate to buy insurance.

However, such programs face scrutiny from some state governments, which have attempted to regulate MediShare, as they would a private insurance company. But Meggs insists MediShare is not insurance.

“There is no contract. There is no guarantee of payment,” he said. “Everyone participates in the program based on faith, based on their moral commitment to the program.”

More than a decade after her diagnosis, Joan Hatrak is cancer-free. She said MediShare and its employees have also helped her family through several less-serious emergencies.

“They are sincere,” Joan said. “It’s so nice at the end of the conversation to have someone say to you, ‘I hope you have a blessed day.’ or, ‘We’ll be praying for you.’ And I don’t think you hear that from regular insurance companies.

The Hatraks said the program is a good fit for their family — not just for covering catastrophic medical expenses, but for providing them a support system rooted in their Christian faith.