Samaritan Ministries and Anglican Care both structure their members’ out-of-pocket around per-need amounts rather than an annual threshold — Samaritan’s IUA and Anglican Care’s MRA each apply to a single need at a time. That shared philosophy makes this one of the cleanest comparisons in the industry: two ministries that agree on structure, differing on model and price.
| Samaritan Ministries | Anglican Care | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 | 20+ years serving members |
| Headquarters | Peoria, IL | Florida |
| Monthly price range | $210–$925/mo (Classic, by household size and age) | $79–$199/mo starting (Foundational/Essential/Complete, age-banded); Senior Care $89–$249 |
| Initial unshared amount | Initial Unscheduled Amount (IUA) per need — commonly $1,000–$2,000 by program, plus co-share on some programs | Member Responsibility Amount (MRA): $1,000–$5,000 per incident by program; $500 Senior Care |
| Per-need sharing limit | Classic: $500,000 per need; Basic: $497,500 (Sept 2026 guidelines) | $250,000–$1,000,000 per incident by program; Catastrophic add-on extends by $1,000,000 |
| Programs | Basic, Classic, Secure, Elevate | Foundational, Essential, Complete, Senior Care (65+), Catastrophic add-on |
| Faith requirements | Statement of faith and church involvement requirements | Statement of faith; Christian community commitments |
Data verified as of September 2026. Confirm current pricing and guidelines with each ministry directly.
Full Samaritan Ministries profile · Full Anglican Care profile
How the models differ
Samaritan’s Classic shares run $210–$925 by household and age, with an IUA commonly $1,000–$2,000 per need plus co-shares on some programs, and a $500,000 per-need cap as of September 2026. Anglican Care’s Essential program starts at $99 with a $2,500 MRA and a $500,000 per-incident limit, and Complete starts at $199 with a $1,000 MRA and a $1,000,000 limit — the Catastrophic add-on extends that by $1,000,000 more. The model difference: Samaritan sends your share directly to a member household (you handle provider negotiation); Anglican Care coordinates sharing through the ministry’s pooled structure. Samaritan’s relational character is real; Anglican Care’s published caps run higher for comparable money.
Who each one suits
Samaritan Ministries strengths
- Direct member-to-member sharing — your money goes to a named household
- Clear per-need caps published in guidelines ($500,000 Classic as of Sept 2026)
- Four program levels from Basic to Elevate for different budgets
Samaritan Ministries watch-outs
- No provider network — cash-price negotiation is on you
- IUA applies per need, so a year with several needs means several IUAs
- Some programs add a co-share on top of the IUA
Anglican Care strengths
- MRA is per incident — a new need starts fresh, no annual reset
- Per-incident sharing limits up to $1,000,000; Catastrophic add-on extends by $1M
- 20+ years serving members; senior program with a low $500 MRA
Anglican Care watch-outs
- Contributions are age-banded and rise with age
- Smaller membership than the national giants
- State availability varies — check current status before joining
The verdict
If the household-to-household character of Samaritan’s model is what sharing means to you, it remains the industry’s purest version of it. If you want per-incident structure with higher published sharing caps at a lower starting price, Anglican Care’s tiers are worth pricing against your household. Both publish their guidelines; read both and compare the shareable categories you actually expect to use.
Disclosure: this site is published by Anglican Care, a healthcare sharing ministry. We publish the same data categories for every ministry we cover, including our own — and these comparisons can lead you to another ministry without us. Data verified September 2026; ministries change pricing and guidelines regularly, so confirm current terms before joining.