Frequently Asked Questions

Health cost sharing is a community-based approach where members voluntarily share each other's medical costs. You choose a plan with a monthly share. When a fellow member has an eligible need, it is shared from members' deposits.

No. Cowboy Christian is a health cost sharing platform, not an insurance company. Members voluntarily share medical costs based on shared Christian beliefs, and sharing is not guaranteed. See our Sharing Guidelines for more on how sharing works.

Cowboy Christian is a community built around Christian faith and values, and we invite individuals and families who share them. During enrollment, you'll be asked to confirm you have read our Statement of Beliefs.

Cowboy Christian is a surgeon-led health cost sharing platform. Cowboy Christian, LLC is a for-profit company (not a ministry or nonprofit), approved needs are shared member to member from members' deposits, and everything runs on a modern, secure technology platform built for radical transparency.

Membership is open to residents of every state except Washington, where enrollment is not open yet. Members choose any doctor or facility in all 50 states. A few states apply their own rules to health cost sharing, so we encourage you to review your state's specifics. Members get our full state-by-state guide, with each state's details, inside the platform.

A few states, such as California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, have their own individual health care requirements or tax rules. Some of those states write exemptions specifically for nonprofit health care sharing ministries, and Cowboy Christian is not a ministry, so those exemptions may not apply to your membership. Whether membership affects your state taxes depends on your state and your situation, and we encourage you to talk with your tax professional. Members can review state-by-state details in the State Guide.

Every plan pairs a $55 per month, per individual membership fee with a monthly share that varies by plan, age, and family size, starting at $85/month for individuals under 45. Your first two paid months are your community trust and onboarding period: in each of them you pay Cowboy Christian an amount equal to your monthly share, which goes to our administration and is not used for sharing. After your first two paid months, you are asked each month to deposit your monthly share, and each deposit is your choice. Visit our Pricing page for the full matrix.

Health cost sharing contributions are generally not tax-deductible as they are not insurance premiums. However, tax laws vary and change, so we recommend consulting with your tax advisor for guidance specific to your situation.

The Homestead Rider is a maternity add-on available on the Bullpen plan only. It makes pregnancy-related medical costs eligible for sharing, with a flat $3,000 added subscriber requirement before sharing begins. It's recommended for members who are planning a pregnancy.

Yes. You can change your plan from your account page. Your new monthly share applies from your next monthly due date.

Cowboy Christian is primarily for catastrophic, necessary, and unexpected medical needs. Elective procedures and certain other items may not be eligible. Our Sharing Guidelines set this out in more detail.

No one is turned away from membership because of a prior medical condition. A 36-month look-back applies to certain categories of conditions and procedures: if you had one in the 36 months before you joined, costs for it, and for a new problem related to it, are not eligible for sharing until you have been a member for 36 months. Cowboy Christian decides whether a need is related, case by case, when you ask for sharing. See our Sharing Guidelines for details.

Prescription drugs are not eligible for sharing, except those given during an eligible health event. We encourage every member to focus on regaining health through a healthy lifestyle.

Log into your member dashboard, click 'New Sharing Request,' select the need category, describe the medical need, upload supporting documentation, and submit. Our team reviews requests promptly, and you can follow your request's status on your dashboard.

After a sharing request is approved, sharing toward it is sent on business days and posts to your account. How long it takes depends on the size of the request and the deposits members have available, and no amount or date is guaranteed. You can follow your request's status on your dashboard.

When an eligible need is approved, it is shared from members' deposits. The community trust and onboarding payments of a member's first two paid months go to our administration and are not used for sharing. Sharing is voluntary, and no payment or sharing is guaranteed.

Our Sharing Guidelines say that if funds are insufficient to meet a need, the need may be prorated for up to 3 months and then reviewed. Prorated means sharing toward the need is sent over time, as members' deposits allow, rather than all at once. At the review, sharing toward the need may be extended for a further period, or the request may be closed. Sharing is voluntary, and no payment or sharing is guaranteed.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we protect member information. We never sell your data, and we never load advertising trackers on member pages.

We limit which vendors can reach member data at all. If we learn that member information has been exposed, we will investigate it, work to contain it, and notify affected members and regulators as the law requires.