Starting Jan. 1, 2027, members of Liberty Connect and Liberty Essential will enjoy a smaller Co-Share percentage for their eligible medical expenses.
Five percentage points for one program. Ten for the other. Those are the reductions Liberty HealthShare announced on Oct. 6, 2026, to the Co-Share its Liberty Connect and Liberty Essential members pay on eligible medical expenses. On a major hospital bill the difference can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Liberty Essential members will see their Co-Share drop from 20% to 10% on Jan. 1, 2027. Liberty Connect members will see their’s fall from 10% to 5% on the same date. The Canton, Ohio-based nonprofit healthcare sharing ministry disclosed the changes in a press release and said they mark the third consecutive year it has adjusted its program cost structures in members' favor.
How the Co-Share Works
Each month, members voluntarily contribute a suggested Monthly Share Amount. Those contributions are then directed toward the sharing of eligible medical bills of other members. Before sharing begins, most members must first meet their Annual Unshared Amount, or AUA, that varies by program.
The Co-Share is the portion of an eligible medical expense must continue to pay prior to sharing, even after the AUA has been met. Once the AUA is satisfied, the member pays a fixed percentage of each remaining eligible expense, and the opportunity for sharing extends to the remaining cost of the medical expense.
The Math on a Large Bill
Consider $100,000 in eligible expenses incurred after the AUA has been met. Under Liberty Essential's 2026 Co-Share amount, the member's portion prior to sharing would be $20,000. Starting in January, it would be $10,000.
Liberty Connect members would see the same proportional shift. On that same $100,000, the member's portion prior to sharing falls from $10,000 to $5,000, which the ministry describes as $5,000 in potential additional member sharing.
Applying the published percentages across a wider range of eligible expenses shows clearly the impact of this change:
| Eligible expenses after AUA | Essential, 2026 (20%) | Essential, 2027 (10%) | Connect, 2026 (10%) | Connect, 2027 (5%) |
| $10,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $500 |
| $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| $100,000 | $20,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| $250,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $12,500 |
These figures are illustrative. They assume every dollar is eligible for sharing under Liberty HealthShare's Sharing Guidelines, and the actual amount a member pays before sharing may begin depends on those guidelines and the specifics of each medical need.
Rising Prices Across the Health System
Employers expect their per-employee health plan spending to climb 8.2% on average in 2027, according to preliminary results from Marsh's survey of more than 1,800 U.S. employers, published by Mercer. That would be the largest annual increase since 2003 and the fifth straight year of elevated growth. Without cost-cutting measures, respondents projected an 11% jump.
Insurers selling plans on the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces have proposed a median premium increase of about 15% for 2027, following a 20% median finalized increase in 2026. KFF reached that figure after reviewing rate filings from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Higher prices also surface at the point of care, when a patient receives the bill for a procedure or a hospital admission.
"Healthcare affordability is about more than what someone pays each month," said Liberty HealthShare Chief Executive Officer Dorsey Morrow. "Families also need to know they can afford healthcare when they actually need it. By cutting these Co-Shares in half, we're providing the opportunity for additional sharing for our members' medical bills."
"We've heard the frustration of people who say they can manage their monthly healthcare costs but worry about what will happen if they face a major medical need," Morrow said. "Our goal is to make healthcare costs more affordable and more predictable for our members."
Three Years of Reductions
Liberty HealthShare announced in August 2025 that it would reduce suggested monthly share amounts on its three most popular programs by up to $26 a month, effective Oct. 1, 2025. That same announcement lowered the Co-Share for two programs.
On May 11, 2026, the ministry said it would return more than $2 million to members and reduce family contribution amounts by an average of 16% across three core programs.
Eleven days later, it announced it would eliminate the $500 AUA for Liberty Assist, its program for seniors enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B, effective Aug. 1, 2026.
"Every member has a role in healthcare sharing," Morrow said. "When our members make wise healthcare decisions and we successfully manage and negotiate medical costs, our entire sharing community benefits. For the third year in a row, we're able to turn that stewardship into lower costs for our members, even as healthcare costs continue to rise across the country."
Program Details and Timing
Liberty HealthShare offers six medical cost-sharing programs. Suggested monthly share amounts for individuals run from $87 to $362, with family options starting at $319. New members pay a $135 application fee, and enrollment is open year-round without a qualifying life event.
Members currently enrolled in a program who want to move into a different program face a timing rule. Program changes are permitted only during a member's annual enrollment window, which opens 60 days before their renewal date.
Charity Navigator gives Liberty HealthShare a four-star rating, and the Better Business Bureau lists it with an A+ rating. Member surveys show an 80% approval rating.
Each program's AUA, Co-Share and eligibility rules appear in the ministry's Sharing Guidelines at LibertyHealthShare.org.
