The Times story also notes that Samaritan added about 50,000 members just last year, swelling its total to about 200,000. When I covered the group in October 2013, it had 86,000 members. I didn’t foresee Obamacare’s disastrous rollout and the extent to which new mandates would drive up premiums and leave customers seeking out cheaper options.

Saving money isn’t the only priority of Samaritan’s members. The opportunity to help their fellow Christians is something these men and women deeply value. “Instead of wanting to be part of an insurance company, I wanted to be part of something where the body of Christ was banding together and doing what the bible commanded in a more personal and real way,” Samaritan’s Executive Vice President James Lansberry told me in an interview.