Membership

Member Guidelines

Last updated: October 9, 2026

These guidelines introduce who we invite to join, the purpose behind our model, and how sharing works at Cowboy Christian.

Cowboy Christian is not insurance. It is a faith-based health cost sharing network. Membership is not an insurance policy, the sharing of costs between members is entirely voluntary, and no payment or sharing is guaranteed.

Who do we invite to join?

We invite Christian Americans who share our values and our way of life:

We ask that our members share our love of America and our belief in the principles of faith, hard work, personal responsibility, and community.

What is the purpose behind this business model?

The purpose of Cowboy Christian is to help Christian Americans save money on their healthcare bills and to lead them toward a more efficient and effective healthcare experience. For too long, the healthcare system has trended downward in both service and financial burden to the American people. Our purpose is to advance free-market principles for a better healthcare system, for Americans and for anyone who wishes to pay for care directly.

This is a service for payment. We provide value to our subscribers through safe, efficient, honest, and effective financial transactions, and we want you to receive healthcare at a fair price. Members commonly pay 50% to 90% less than they would through traditional insurance, because cash-pay patients often pay only a fraction of the billed charge. Our goal is to help you settle the price of your care before you receive it, wherever that is possible, adding downward pressure to an inefficient and overpriced system. We are pro-American, pro-physician, and pro-patient.

By removing the middleman and most administrators, we work to optimize both the financial and the medical outcome.

The most common cause of bankruptcy in America is healthcare, and we are working to change that.

Subscribers to Cowboy Christian are self-pay. Make it known whenever you receive care that you are paying cash. Cowboy Christian is not insurance. You may see the doctor you believe will help you best, at any hospital. Because subscribers are self-pay, the cash price is often far lower than the billed charge.

By joining Cowboy Christian, we stand together to negotiate healthcare at the best price. Our physician uses his years of experience and familiarity with the industry to build a curated list of healthcare facilities where both skill and price are strong. We update this information for our members as subscribers and their locations come online, which benefits the whole community. Through these resources, you can find solutions that include transparent pricing for many outpatient procedures.

Do I need to be an American citizen?

Membership is open to United States citizens and to others who are lawfully present in the United States. This is a membership requirement, and you confirm it when you join. To join, you must also live in the United States and have an account at a United States bank. We are proud to serve our country and our fellow Americans.

These requirements continue for as long as you are a member, and sharing moves only between accounts at United States banks. If you move your residence outside the United States, tell us through the contact form at cowboychristiansharing.com/contact or by calling us toll-free at 1-888-915-2776. You are no longer eligible from the date of the move, and your membership ends on that date. A need that was already approved keeps what members have already shared toward it, and nothing further is shared.

Can I join if I am 65 or older?

Yes. People 65 and older can join. Cowboy Christian is not Medicare and is not a Medicare supplement plan, and membership does not replace Medicare. If you have Medicare or are eligible for it, do not drop or delay it because you are joining Cowboy Christian.

What lifestyle do we ask of our members?

Health is closely tied to our mental and physical strength, and we are a common-sense company. To help minimize the risk of health events in our lives, we encourage our community of members to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

We encourage every member to work toward and maintain good overall health, including a healthy body weight, regular activity, and good nutrition.

Are prior medical conditions eligible for sharing?

No one is turned away from membership because of a prior medical condition, and we do not ask for your medical history when you join.

A 36-month look-back applies to conditions and procedures in the following categories:

If you had a condition or procedure in one of these categories during the 36 months before you joined, costs for that condition or procedure, and for a new problem related to it, are not eligible for sharing until you have been a member for 36 months. This applies to those costs only. A new problem that is not related to it, and your other medical needs, remain eligible for sharing under these guidelines.

The look-back is applied when you ask for sharing, based on what you tell us then. Whether a need is related to an earlier condition is decided by Cowboy Christian, case by case, at that time.

Are prescription drugs eligible for sharing?

Prescription drugs are not eligible for sharing, except those given during an eligible health event. We encourage every member to focus on regaining health through a healthy lifestyle.

Are dental and vision care eligible for sharing?

Dental and vision care are not eligible for sharing unless they are related to an eligible health event.

Can you help me get a fair price for my care?

Yes. The best time to settle a price is before you receive care. Wherever a price can be worked out with a facility ahead of time, we will help you work it out. Once you have received care, you are the one who talks with the hospital or clinic about what you owe, and we coach you on how to approach that conversation and what a fair cash price looks like. As the patient, you have real influence in those conversations. Everyone in the community shares the same goal: reasonable prices for every healthcare event, and a better healthcare system for our country.

Is this insurance?

No. This is not insurance. We do not file claims with insurance companies. We do not bill insurance companies.

Can I keep a health plan I already have?

Yes. Membership does not require you to give up a health plan you already have. If another source pays, or agrees to pay, part of a bill, that part is not shared, so we ask that you seek payment from that source first.

Is Cowboy Christian a faith-based company?

Yes. Cowboy Christian is a faith-based company rooted in Christian values. We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and we want to support all of our Christian families, including single parents who are practicing Christians and attend church regularly. Members of our community are like-minded, and we want to help our Christian brothers and sisters reach their true potential by reducing the impact of a medical event.

Cowboy Christian, LLC is a for-profit company. It is not a church or a ministry.

Are payments guaranteed?

No. This is voluntary sharing, and no payments are guaranteed. Once a need is authorized, it is shared among members, and the members being asked to contribute are notified. Accountability and transparency are at the core of how we operate.

It is your responsibility to make certain that all of your bills are paid.

When is the membership fee due?

Your monthly membership fee is due on the same day of the month that you joined. If your membership fee payment does not go through on its due date, a flat $5 late fee is added to your next monthly payment to help cover the cost of handling a late payment. This applies even if a later attempt to collect that payment goes through. Only one late fee applies for each due date, and no late fee is charged on a late fee.

Are elective cosmetic procedures eligible for sharing?

No. Elective cosmetic procedures that are not associated with trauma or cancer are not eligible for sharing. This service is primarily for catastrophic, necessary, and unexpected medical needs.

Can you help me find places to have surgery?

If you need surgery, we will work with you on the cost side of that decision: what it is likely to cost and where it can be obtained at a fair self-pay price. The best time to settle the price of a non-emergent surgery is before the surgery is performed. Clinical decisions stay between you and your own physician.

One of our great strengths is an intimate understanding of the healthcare business and how to find facilities that will quote a real, all-in cash price before you commit. A complex surgical decision, even one that means a short plane ride, can be well worth the investment for long-term results, both medically and financially. We can walk you through the cost-sharing side of that decision, and our resource page lists cash-pay surgery centers as a starting point for your own research. Where we have called a facility ourselves, what we ask about is price and process: whether they will quote before you arrive, whether they have a practiced path for cash patients, whether the quote is all-in, and whether they can tell you who will be operating. Those questions are about cost and process, not about clinical outcomes, which stay between you and your own physician. A pillar of Cowboy Christian's purpose is to shift care toward free-market facilities built on a strong physician-patient relationship and fair, transparent prices. That is what we work toward for every member.

How is pregnancy shared at Cowboy Christian? (Homestead Rider)

Pregnancy is shared only through the Homestead Rider, which is available on the Bullpen plan. The Homestead Rider includes care for the entire pregnancy and post-delivery follow-up. Pregnancy costs are shared only when the pregnancy occurs after joining. A pregnancy that occurs after joining is eligible from your first day of membership, and a sharing request for it can be submitted once your trust and validation period completes. The rider includes only care for a pregnancy that begins after the rider is added, so a pregnancy that has already begun when the rider is added is not eligible for sharing. Under the Homestead Rider, the child's own care from birth until the child is discharged home from the hospital, a stay in neonatal intensive care included, is eligible for sharing as part of the mother's pregnancy. Within 30 days after the child is discharged home, add the child to your membership with their own subscription. For a child of a pregnancy shared through the rider who is added within those 30 days, the child's needs are eligible for sharing from the day of discharge, and a sharing request for the child's care can be submitted once the trust and validation period for the child's addition completes. The 36-month look-back applies to the child and is counted from the day the child is added. After the child is discharged home, care for a condition present at birth in one of the look-back categories is not eligible for sharing until the child has been a member for 36 months.

Pregnancy-related care, including a complication of pregnancy and emergency care that arises from a pregnancy, is shared only through the Homestead Rider. Without the rider, a pregnancy-related need is not eligible for sharing. Without the rider, a newborn can be added to your membership from 30 days after the child is discharged home from the hospital, and the child's needs are eligible for sharing from the day the child is added. A sharing request for the child's care can be submitted once the trust and validation period for the child's addition completes, and the 36-month look-back applies to the child and is counted from the day the child is added.

This page is an overview. The Sharing Guidelines, which are the member agreement you accept when you join, are published at cowboychristiansharing.com/sharing-guidelines. Sharing under that agreement is voluntary and is not a legal obligation, and no payment or sharing is guaranteed.