A Closer Look at the Sharing Economy for Healthcare

You’ve likely heard of Uber, Airbnb, and the like. Entities like these have adopted the “sharing economy” business model, whereby others share their goods and services for a fee.

It’s becoming a wildly popular strategy, but it isn’t just reserved for sharing homes and vehicles.

What is the ‘Sharing Economy’?

A ‘sharing economy‘ is an economic system whereby products and services are shared between individuals using information technology to facilitate these exchanges. These days, consumers can rent cars, homes, tools, and many other items that they only need temporarily.

We first started seeing real sharing platforms over a decade ago when internet access and mobile technology really started to take off. Digitalization has allowed both corporations and individuals to tap into the informal economy.

The sharing economy has since expanded rapidly and diversified to include other services and will continue to grow into new markets as new business models are developed.

Health Sharing as Part of the Sharing Economy

One such model that continues to grow is health sharing. Health sharing ministries are playing an increasingly larger role in the sharing economy.

These programs are offered by organizations with members who “share” medical costs among themselves. Members of a health care sharing program make voluntary contributions to a pool of funds each month, as well as an annual unshared amount.

Essentially, members of a health sharing ministry share their finances to both help others and be helped when the need arises.

As a Christian health sharing ministry, UHSM believes that Christians are called not just to help ourselves and our own families within our households, but also to help others.

The better members are able to manage their financial resources, the better they will be able to help their fellow neighbors. And we make it our mission to help facilitate that.

USHM Rebranding to “WeShare”

At UHSM, we offer several programs and levels for members to choose from based on their circumstances, needs, and budgets. Whenever a medical bill must be paid, the contributions made to the pool of funds can be tapped into by contributing members.

But our mission doesn’t stop there. We’re thrilled to announce the advancement of UHSM, designed with our members in mind. We want to continue being leaders in the world of health sharing and have upgraded our branding to “WeShare powered by UHSM.” This change is meant to help improve our products and faith-based values.

With the change in branding, the UHSM name won’t disappear and will always be part of our name. Our current programs will also not change. All information and benefits will remain unchanged.

Additionally, we have established new partnerships and program ambassadors that will play a key role in the healthcare experience of our members. These will be announced shortly.

To find out more about our programs and services, get in touch with a representative from UHSM today and learn how to share the health.