When Joanna Ward was hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2020, she wasn’t sure what to expect from the medical billing that would follow. What she wasn’t expecting: a bill of at least $19,000 settled without any payment from her.
A year before that hospitalization, Ward, a self-employed financial advisor without a health insurance plan through an employer, had heard a radio advertisement for a healthcare sharing ministry. She researched her options, found Liberty HealthShare, and enrolled. When the most difficult stretch of her life arrived, which included a three-day hospital stay, multiple preceding emergency room visits, and the death of a close friend to the same illness, her fellow members voluntarily carried the financial weight of her eligible medical expenses.
“When you’re facing a sickness that is literally life and death, you kind of just accept that there are going to be costs,” Ward said. “It was reassuring to know that I had a community behind me.”
Ward’s story anchors the Q1 2026 Member Quarterly from Liberty HealthShare, now available at libertyhealthshare.org. The publication also talks about new board appointments, the opening installment of an educational series with an article about fair and reasonable healthcare pricing, expanded care partnerships, and a women’s health column with guidance on preventative screenings and osteoporosis risk.
Fifteen Months of Membership Growth and Two New Board Appointments
Chief Executive Officer Dorsey Morrow opened his member letter by reporting 15 consecutive months of increased new monthly memberships, with each month outpacing the same period a year earlier. Morrow credited the ministry’s dedicated team members and its members alike for the momentum.
“This growth is a testament to the good work of our employees, as well as the devotion and commitment of members like you,” Morrow wrote.
Liberty HealthShare also appointed two new members to its Board of Directors, expanding the board to seven. Patrick Gregory, of Montgomery, Alabama, serves as vice president and chief marketing officer at Faulkner University, a role he has held since 2022. Gregory holds a graduate certificate in marketing strategy from Cornell University and has spent more than four decades in marketing and video production.
Lovel Mejia, of Cottage Grove, Tennessee, comes to the board with a background spanning sales, marketing, information technology, and elementary school education. Mejia is completing a Christian Counseling certification through the National Christian Counselors Association.
“We were looking for potential board members who, above all else, clearly exhibited a strong obedience to Christ and a passion to serve others,” Morrow said.
Understanding What Fair and Reasonable Pricing Means
One of the more substantive sections in the Q1 issue launches a new educational series with an article on fair and reasonable pricing.Liberty HealthShare plans to address a variety of healthcare sharing topics through both written content and video.
Per section XIV of Liberty HealthShare’s Sharing Guidelines (libertyhealthshare.org), fair and reasonable pricing accounts for the medical expenses incurred by the provider, the Medicare reimbursement rate for the same service, and the customary charge for that service within the relevant geographic area. For inpatient or outpatient facility eligible medical expenses, the sharing amount is set at 140% of the Medicare allowable amount. For physician or ancillary eligible medical expenses, it is 120%. Both figures shift according to where a member lives and which service is involved.
Members who identify providers within the PHCS Network through HST Connect, a powerful provider search tool, have a greater chance of receiving care at rates consistent with those parameters. Doing so helps sustain the community’s shared resources for all members. Those with questions can reach Liberty HealthShare’s team at 855-585-4237.
New Partnerships Expand Access to Bundled Pricing
Liberty HealthShare announced partnerships with Valenz Health and Coral in Q1 2026, giving members additional pathways to bundled pricing on imaging procedures and surgeries.
When a physician recommends a CT scan, MRI, PET scan, or surgical procedure, the ministry advises members to contact the Care Navigation team first. Advocates there review the specific need and connect the member with the proper vendor to evaluate bundled options available through Valenz Health and Coral, who then connect the member with an appropriate provider.
Bundled pricing means a single pre-negotiated rate is the cost of a procedure and associated services, giving members a clear figure before care begins. Those arrangements also limit exposure to balance billing and can eliminate large upfront deposits that hospitals and surgical centers typically require.
“These partnerships are structured to reduce administrative burden, eliminate large upfront payment requirements where applicable, and provide members with greater clarity before care begins,” the quarterly states.
Women’s Health: Screenings That Warrant Attention
Amy Hagen, Liberty HealthShare’s VP of Medical Services and a board-certified registered nurse, dedicated her Q1 column to women’s health, with particular attention to annual gynecological visits, preventative screenings, and osteoporosis. On that last subject, she cited a figure worth noting: women over 50 face a 50% chance of an osteoporosis-related fracture. Warning signs include back pain, gradual height loss, stooping posture, and bone breaks following what appear to be minor incidents. Members whose parent or sibling has experienced osteoporosis carry elevated risk, and Hagen’s recommendation was direct: make an appointment now.
After the first two months of membership, Liberty HealthShare members may have an annual preventative wellness visit and associated lab work, with no prior symptoms required, eligible for sharing up to $500 of fair and reasonable charges. That opportunity for sharing includes an annual preventative gynecological office visit.
“Always remember that you’re never walking alone on your healthcare journey,” Hagen wrote. “The Liberty HealthShare community is here to offer opportunities for support in mind, body, and spirit.”
A Community Measured in Voluntary Shares
February’s SharePower report, included in the Q1 issue, reflects $8,413,101 in voluntary contributions from members. Of that total, $7,034,739 went toward sharing that month’s eligible medical expenses for fellow members.
Ward, now nearly five years into her membership, says that context stays with her. She still recommends Liberty HealthShare to people she encounters and uses tools such as HST Connect when locating participating providers (libertyhealthshare.org/blog).
“When I was going through those trials, the Liberty HealthShare community came through for me,” she said. “To know that I’m with a ministry, where I pray for others and they pray for me, is priceless. I have never once regretted sticking with the ministry. I sing the praises of Liberty HealthShare as much as I can.”
Liberty HealthShare’s Q1 2026 Member Quarterly is available now at libertyhealthshare.org.
