Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/20/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been a member of Christian Healthcare Ministries for the last seven years. This year, they denied every claim I submitted, which totals almost $25,000. They have acted in bad faith. I have continued to pay the monthly contribution to the ministry, in good faith that the bills I submitted will be covered. However, they have denied each and every one. They claim that the treatments I sought for Lyme disease were not peer reviewed; however, they are. *** sited as their reasoning for denial as the treatments have not been researched and published in mainstream, peer-reviewed medical journals (Relative Guideline: Guideline V.E.2, p. 32 of the 2023 *** Guidelines). After reading the *** guidelines, my attorney has advised me that the *** treatment is both peer reviewed and published by the **************************************************************** (*****************************************), and therefore, meets their program requirements. Also, Nexlin Medicine prescribed doxycycline, which is the most common treatment for Lyme disease, and their ******** of **** team denied that claim as well. I would like the ministry to reimburse me for the medical expenses I have incurred and submitted. I have a very large file that includes all medical bills submitted to ***. Please feel free to reach out to me via email to gain access. Thank you for your help!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/28/2023

  Hello *******,

  We appreciate the opportunity to provide clarity to your concerns.

  You mentioned that we've denied every submission you've sent us, but this is inaccurate; there are a few submissions that have not fully been processed because we're missing important information. CHM asked that you submit Sharing Request Forms specific to your 2023 L Arm Laceration and your 2022 Retinal Tear incidents (Guideline VI.B.2.a).These requests were first made on 10/16/23 and 10/4/23, respectively. We did not receive these forms in response to our request. Additionally, it appears that you had an emergency room visit on 06/04/22 with a diagnosis of pedal edema. This, too, can be considered for sharing once we receive the proper Sharing Request Forms. We've sent multiple requests for these items, and as soon as we receive the necessary forms, the bills will be processing in accordance with CHM Guidelines.

  There are, however, other submissions that will not be eligible for reimbursement. A few bills/incidents did not meet the incident qualifying amount of $1,000 for your CHM Gold membership. Additionally, CHM cannot share the cost of your treatment for Lyme disease. Based on the itemized bills we have on file, your doctor began treating you on 08/02/22 with supportive oligonucleotide therapy (SOT) and a variety of supplements. The supplements, which are ineligible for sharing for any condition (Guideline V.C.1.b.2 and V.E.9), continued throughout the year. SOT was again administered on 08/24/23, along with LDN titration and ivermectin earlier in the year.Neither of these medications are considered part of a conventional medical approach to treating Lyme disease. The ****************** of ****** concluded that more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of SOT in treating Lyme disease. At present, this treatment is considered an experimental alternative approach.

  We must abide by our Guidelines in the processing of your Lyme disease incident; However, we do look forward to processing your eligible medical expenses upon receipt of your required forms.

  Blessings,
  CHM Staff

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/14/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been a member of Christian healthcare ministries for over 3 years. I've been a gold member for over a year. This year, I met a threshold to be able to submit bills for the first time. They find all kinds of reasons apparently not to pay your bills. So there's really no value added for the money that they're asking for. The cherry on the top is that they've added this feature where if you don't turn them in a certain time frame, that time frame being unknown, that they won't pay. Under today's healthcare market? Good luck even having been billed and gotten a hold of receipts within whatever that time frame is. So basically, there's no benefit to joining the sharing ministry. It's a total scam.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/14/2023

  Hello *****,
  

  Thank you for giving us an opportunity to respond to your concerns.
  

  Eligibility decisions are not made arbitrarily. All medical bills are processed according to our CHM Guidelines, which are provided to all members. We strongly encourage all members to be aware of any Guidelines that pertain to their individual needs and ask that any member who has questions about eligibility call our office so they understand exactly what is and is not eligible for sharing.
  

  Per our Guidelines, there is a $1,000 Qualifying Amount per incident on CHM Gold that needs to be met before medical bills can be considered for sharing. Because your incident did not meet the Qualifying Amount, it is ineligible for sharing. If you have questions about the Qualifying Amount, you can check out our glossary (CHMinistries.org/glossary).
  

  The timeline for submitting bills is also mentioned within our Guidelines. Section VI.B.1 states, Medical bills must be submitted within six months from the date of service. However, we understand that there are some circumstances beyond our members control and can offer a one-time exception for otherwise eligible medical bills.
  

  If you have additional questions or concerns about eligibility, you can call us at ************** or email us at *********************************.
  

  Blessings,
  CHM Staff

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/14/2023

  An additional note: If an incident doesn't meet the Qualifying Amount per incident, but the member sends in additional eligible bills that make the incident meet the Qualifying Amount per incident, the original bills can be re-authorized should all other Guidelines be met. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/25/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Do not ever use CHRISTIAN HEALTHCARE MINISTRIES!!!! They will not pay for any bill they say they will. They constantly raise their minimum that they will cover. Ours fluctuated from $500 to $1000 in about 3-4 months!!! Meaning if your bill was $999 or less you pay it without them helping at all!!! They told me last year they'd cover my procedures, and dropped the ball at the last minute leaving me devastated. PROMISING beforehand that they'd cover everything! They advised me last year to not do any surgeries that the had doctor advised! To view it as giving up my spot (life) for someone else who needs it more. WHAT?!!! When they MISUNDERSTOOD? and thought I had cancer, they were going to make me pay in a certain amount of money to see if their board would decided to cover any cancer treatments or not. What would I had done if this was a cancer treatment?!!! These are not Christian people! THESE PEOPLE are con artists! I was told by an oncologist that they told one of her cancer patients that they were too expensive for their plans! They was costing the company to much money. That’s insane! I can’t hear Jesus saying that! They WONT COVER A BILL that I had just received. (BECAUSE WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT MEMBERS AT THIS CURRENT MOMENT!!!!) Even though when the bill was billed we were members! Leaving me with a $14,000 bill due now..They advertise as a type of health insurance, but they are there to watch people suffer and at the worst case, die! ITS A SCAM! Apparently all that people are worth to them is a $ sign. Run far from them! They are an evil corporation hiding under the umbrella of a “ministry “! Between medical debt from them, and all we’ve paid for their so called “coverage “ we are out of pocket waaaay over $30,000, and still trying to figure out how to pay for most of that! They care nothing for human life… or the option to live it at its healthiest. They love to say…. Our books state… bla bla bla. But they know they make all that up as it suits them!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2023

  Hello ******,

  We hope that you will understand that had your bills been
  eligible for sharing under our Guidelines, they would most certainly have been
  shared, just as CHM has met the needs of its members for 41 years and has
  satisfied more than $10 billion of members’ eligible medical bills.

  When you called us about your procedure in February, the
  Member Services representative you spoke to misunderstood that you were asking
  about receiving an ineligible preventative procedure—they thought that you currently
  had a cancer diagnosis. However, regardless of that miscommunication, you were
  not given a promise of reimbursement; you were told that the procedure was
  typically eligible for current cancer patients—which was not applicable
  to you—and that we would review your bills upon receipt.

  When you called back in March for advice on scheduling the
  procedure, you clarified that this procedure was preventative in nature and you
  didn’t have cancer. You were informed at that point, before your surgery was
  ever scheduled, that it would be ineligible for sharing. All medical bills are
  processed according to the ministry’s Guidelines to ensure fairness and
  consistency for, and to, all members. If you had read the Guidelines, you would
  have seen that the preventative procedure you wanted was ineligible for
  sharing. You would have also seen our disclaimer: when you call in for
  eligibility questions, we can only give opinions—not decisions.

  Because of the misunderstanding, the case was reviewed, and
  it was determined that we couldn’t share for the procedure since you were
  informed prior to the procedure taking place. However, to ensure fairness due
  to the misunderstanding, we did take several steps to rectify it, such as:
  
  - Offering to share any pre-surgery expenses incurred between the time you first called in February through the date of the determination, and
  - Reimbursing your monthly payments for March and April 2023 during the two months you thought, though incorrectly, that the surgery could be shared because, as you stated, you would have cancelled your membership and looked elsewhere had you known it was ineligible

  When CHM offered to reimburse payments for those months, it meant
  your membership would end Feb. 28, 2023, and no further bills could be shared
  after this date (See Guideline II.G.1-2). This
  was explained to you prior to the reimbursement being made, and you stated that
  you had no further bills to submit.

  With respect to program changes, there have been revisions
  to members’ Personal Responsibility amounts; however, CHM also provides ways to
  reduce these amounts. We began informing members of program pricing changes
  using multiple emails, billing statements, Heartfelt Magazine editions, and
  more months before the date the changes went into effect. The reasons –
  inflation and historically high program usage – were clearly explained. That’s
  in keeping with our policy of transparency.

  Furthermore, at CHM there are no membership restrictions
  based on age, geographic location, or health history. We would not turn down a
  member, and neither is an eligible bill declined, because they are “too
  expensive.”

  If you would like to discuss this further, we invite you to
  please call us at (***) ***-****.

  Blessings,
  CHM Staff

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/03/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  It full of false claims. I was given 1 day to plan my surgery and have it because they back dated it to the date I called in to verify if I was covered. Then took that entire time to get back with me by phone. I love the pictures you are trying to paint for your companies face.??I absolutely loved that you sent out magazine’s, yet you never made it clear that “inflation was effecting you by hundreds of dollars monthly. So you gently hiked up our bills! How Godly of you! Like I stated… you are going to go back to your rules that are apparently printed with invisible ink. I’d love to hear why you wouldn’t cover one of our employees who had fluid on their heart? Was that not covered by your invisible rule book as well? Yeah…. Scam. I reject this entire response. You guys are playing with fire…. You’ll most likely be in some hot water. Keep trying to cover your rears, all the other companies who have done that no longer exist because they were found out to have been scammers as well. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/16/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have been members for a few years and had great service until this. My wife gave birth in June of 2022. I submitted the medical bills on 10/9/22. I had 2 notification dated 12/20 and 4/24 requesting additional itemized bills. Per CMH guidelines you have 6 months to submit bills. I submitted as soon as I received them in October and they requested additional information on 12/20. That gives only 10 days during the holiday to obtain itemized bills to be submitted for them to be eligible. As you can see in the emails they stated they were in process since February 2nd. However they declined to pay $5700 and just now let us know we had to submit a letter of explanation since they were outside the window. I submitted the letter and they still declined it. I dont believe its fair and ethical to make us pay since February $200 + dollars a month just to be denied now.
  
  To be fair I believe we should be refunded the membership amount for the months of March-May and since they decline to pay the bill I can utilized that money to pay the hospital.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/18/2023

  Hello ****,

  We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

  Our six month submission guideline applies to the original submission date. In your case, even if the original bills you submitted didn't contain sufficient information, we would still honor the date you submitted them; those unitemized bills serve as a placeholder until we receive itemized bills. From what I can see on your membership, all of the bills originally submitted on 10/9/22 were fully processed and reimbursed once we received the itemized bills.

  However, there were new charges submitted on 2/2/2023 that did not meet the six month timeframe (these charges are unrelated to the charges submitted 10/9/22). From what I can see on the documents submitted, it looks like your provider didn't send you these bills until after the six months, so I contacted the maternity team and recommended that we extend grace on the rule and process them without a letter of explanation.

  As for the $5700, this charge was already reimbursed on a previous need, so the new need was marked ineligible for reasons of being a duplicate charge. We can supply you with the check number, the date the check was sent, and the date the check was cleared. If you would like to receive this information, please give us a call at ************ or email us at **************************.

  Blessings,
  CHM Staff

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/18/2023

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been a paying member of CHM since 2014/ 2015 and paid my dues with out any bills submitted. CHM does not pay for any preventive services, like MD visits for any "occurrence for less $500 or less. On 2021 I had to seek medical consults and treatments and incurred bills which I collected and submitted on May 4 2021. There is no customer service that you can speak with in CHM. Submission of bills is done online so there is no one to ask regarding the bills, not there is any response or feedback from CHM as to what is wrong. On line there is no updates available to see about what has been submitted. It has already been 70days. Thank you.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/15/2022

  Hello ********,

  Thank you for reaching out with your concerns.

  We reviewed your membership, and our records show we sent multiple requests for additional information within 30 days of your submission. These requests would've been accessible through your ****** Portal, and you would've received email communication as well. 

  We would be happy to discuss what we need from you in order to continue the sharing process if you email us at ***************************** or give our ****** Services team a call at ***********************.

  Blessings,

  CHM Staff

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/16/2022

  [BBB transcribed via duplicate complaint consumer filed. Reopened previous complaint, see attachments]

  I have submitted my online receipts. CHM has denied all. my submitted receipts. CHM is asking for receipts with a diagnosis code. I called all the doctors office, imaging, labs, etc and even the billing department so that the diagnosis code can be added and I was told that this was never added to the the receipt or invoice. Therefore what CHM is asking for the members is impossible. There is no one ( no customer service ) to speak with to explain what can be done. CHM just rejects the claim and refuses to pay. As of now I have submitted over $2000 and my bills keeps piling and I continue to pay my monthly membership to CHM. I was diagnosed with a chronic debilitating disease last year and I have been with CHM since 2014 and this is my first claim submitted.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2022

  Hello ********,

  CHM has not finished processing your bills since we are awaiting itemized information, and as such, they have not been marked as ineligible. Per our CHM Guidelines, we ask all of our members to obtain itemized bills from their providers. An itemized bill is NOT a receipt. An itemized bill includes the provider name, patient name, date of service, description of service, and total charges. 

  We have a Member Services department what would be happy to help walk you through what we need for your specific bills. However, per our records, you haven't attempted to call our Member Services department.

  If you want to discuss this further, you will need to either reach out to ********************* or give our Member Services team a call at ************, ext. ****.

  Blessings, 

  CHM Staff