I Left Health Insurance for CrowdHealth: What Actually Happened

What CrowdHealth Actually Is (and Isn't)

CrowdHealth is not health insurance. It is not a health sharing ministry. It is a healthcare crowdfunding platform founded in 2021 and headquartered in Austin, TX, with approximately 17,000+ members. The distinction matters legally and practically.

With health insurance, your claims are backed by a regulated entity required by law to pay. With a health sharing ministry, members voluntarily share medical costs according to guidelines. With CrowdHealth, your medical bills are posted to a community pool and other members fund them voluntarily. CrowdHealth states that 99% of submitted bills have been funded, but there is no legal guarantee your bill will be covered.

This is the fundamental trade-off: CrowdHealth is dramatically cheaper than insurance, but the coverage is voluntary, not guaranteed. For a detailed comparison of these models, see our guide on CrowdHealth vs. health sharing.

The Real Cost Breakdown

CrowdHealth's pricing has two components: a fixed advocacy fee and a variable crowdfunding amount. Here is how it breaks down for a typical member under 55.

For context, the average unsubsidized ACA marketplace plan costs $456/month for an individual in 2026. Even the cheapest traditional health sharing plan (CHM at $115/month) costs less than CrowdHealth only if you accept its strict faith requirements and limited coverage. CrowdHealth's ~$140/month average is genuinely competitive — the question is what you give up for that price.

One detail often overlooked: the $60/month advocacy fee represents 30-43% of your total monthly cost, and it goes to CrowdHealth the company, not to funding bills. This is how the business sustains itself. It is transparent, but worth understanding.

What Works Well

Bill negotiation is genuinely valuable. CrowdHealth's advocacy team negotiates medical bills before they are posted for crowdfunding. They report 30-60% discounts on planned procedures. For a $20,000 hospital bill, that negotiation alone could save $6,000-$12,000. This is arguably the most tangible benefit of membership.

No coverage caps. Unlike Medi-Share ($250,000 cap) or OneShare ($150,000-$500,000 per incident), CrowdHealth has no maximum per health event. If the community funds it, there is no ceiling. For catastrophic events, this is a meaningful advantage.

No faith requirements or lifestyle restrictions (beyond no tobacco use). CrowdHealth is fully secular. You do not need to sign a statement of faith, attend church, or agree to religious principles. For non-religious users who want an alternative to traditional insurance, this is one of the few options available.

Month-to-month flexibility. There are no annual contracts. You can cancel at any time. This is a genuine advantage over ACA plans (annual enrollment) and even most health sharing ministries that prefer longer commitments.

Strong member satisfaction. CrowdHealth holds a 4.7/5 rating on Trustpilot from 665+ reviews. That is higher than any traditional health sharing ministry we track. Members frequently cite the bill negotiation service and transparent cost reporting as highlights.

What Does Not Work

Pre-existing conditions are severely limited. This is the biggest catch. CrowdHealth does not fund pre-existing conditions at all during your first year. Year two allows up to $25,000. Year three allows $50,000. Full coverage ($100,000/year) does not kick in until year four. If you have diabetes, heart disease, or any chronic condition, you are functionally unprotected for one to three years.

Coverage is voluntary, not guaranteed. CrowdHealth's 99% funding rate is impressive, but it is a historical statistic, not a legal obligation. If the community pool runs low or the organization faces financial difficulty, there is no regulatory backstop. This is fundamentally different from regulated insurance where payment is legally required.

No tobacco users. If you use any tobacco products, you cannot join CrowdHealth. Most health sharing ministries have similar restrictions, but it is worth noting.

State restrictions. CrowdHealth cannot be used to satisfy employer coverage mandates in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, DC, and Vermont. It does not count as insurance in any state.

Very new organization. Founded in 2021, CrowdHealth has only about five years of operating history. Compare that to CHM (founded 1981, 300,000+ members) or Medi-Share (founded 1992, 400,000+ members). Longevity is not everything, but a longer track record provides more data on how an organization handles large claims and financial stress.

CrowdHealth vs. Traditional Health Sharing

How does CrowdHealth compare to the major health sharing ministries on key factors? Here is a direct comparison.

The standout difference is price. At ~$140/month, CrowdHealth costs $45-$265 less per month than comparable health sharing plans. Over a year, that is $540-$3,180 in savings. The trade-off is the crowdfunding model's uncertainty and the strict pre-existing condition phase-in. For a deeper dive, read our full comparison of CrowdHealth vs. health sharing ministries.

Who CrowdHealth Is Actually For

Based on our research, CrowdHealth works best for a specific profile:

• Healthy individuals under 55 with no pre-existing conditions
• Self-employed or freelance workers who do not receive employer coverage
• People who want flexibility — month-to-month, no contracts
• Non-religious individuals who do not want to sign a statement of faith
• Budget-conscious individuals willing to accept some risk for lower costs

CrowdHealth does not work well for:

• Anyone with pre-existing conditions — you are unprotected for 1-3 years
• Families with children — the individual-only pricing model does not scale well
• People who need guaranteed coverage — consider Presidio Healthcare (actual insurance) instead
• Tobacco users — CrowdHealth does not accept them
• Residents of CA, MA, NJ, RI, DC, or VT with employer coverage mandates

If you are in the target profile, CrowdHealth can save you $2,000-$4,000 per year compared to ACA marketplace plans and $500-$1,500 compared to most health sharing ministries. If you are not in the target profile, Zion HealthShare ($185-$268/month, no pre-existing waiting period, PPO network) is the safer alternative.

Our Verdict

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