Terminology | Cowboy Christian Resources

Annual Unshared Amount

Cost Sharing

The amount a member or household is responsible for before the community begins sharing eligible costs in a given year. It plays a role similar to an insurance deductible, but it belongs to the sharing model.

Balance Billing

Billing & Pricing

When a provider bills a patient for the difference between their charge and what was already paid. Transparent cash and bundled prices are designed to prevent it.

Bundled Pricing

Billing & Pricing

A single upfront price that covers everything for an episode of care, such as a surgery, including the facility, surgeon, and anesthesia. No surprise line-item bills afterward.

Cash Pay / Self-Pay

Billing & Pricing

Paying a provider directly at the time of care, usually at a transparent price, instead of billing insurance. Cost sharing members often pay cash and then submit a sharing request.

Direct Primary Care

Care Models

A care model where a patient pays a flat monthly fee directly to a primary care practice for most everyday care, with no insurance billing in between. Often paired with cost sharing for larger needs.

Eligible for Sharing

Cost Sharing

A medical cost that meets the sharing guidelines and can be shared among members. There is no promise to pay.

Free-Market Medicine

Care Models

Care delivered by providers who publish real, upfront prices and compete on quality and value, rather than billing through opaque insurance networks.

Health Cost Sharing

Cost Sharing

A model where members commit to share one another's eligible medical costs directly, member to member. It is not insurance. Cowboy Christian holds no pool of member funds, sharing is voluntary, and no payment is guaranteed.

Membership Fee

Membership

The fee that supports operating the Cowboy Christian platform and network. It is billed alongside the monthly share but is tracked separately from the amount a member commits to sharing.