Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes a series of headlines about a new trend in marriage that economists are seeing.
True love?
Nope.
Wanting to build a life with the person of your dreams?
Not exactly.
The end of health care subsidies at the beginning of 2026 left people scrambling to figure out how to afford medical care without breaking the bank. NPR recently highlighted the case of Mathew, who realized during the summer of 2025 that his healthcare premium costs were going to almost triple if subsidies were not extended. His solution was to marry a friend of his, since his friend had more affordable coverage through her employer. 1
💍 It’s a continuation of a trend that was noted during COVID, in which 26% of people said they got married during that time for financial reasons, including securing traditional health insurance. 2 That sounds like either the beginning of a trope-worthy romance novel or the very antithesis of this Valentine’s season, when marriage comes not from love but from the billing department of your doctor’s office. While there are certainly financial considerations to be had when it comes to choosing your spouse, affordable health care shouldn’t be one of them. When you know that you have flexible, affordable healthcare options, you’re in a far better position to actually make romantic decisions based on love and spirituality, instead of what insurance your potential partner has. 3 While you might be thinking you’re making a ‘healthy’ choice in the near-term to marry for access to insurance coverage, real love, true love, has a whole lot to do with your overall health during your lifetime. In this post-ACA subsidies world, there is growing concern that we’ll see a return to marriages made for insurance reasons, instead of true love.
💙💛 The irony in all of this is that there are affordable, flexible options out there for every season of life, married or not, like Altrua HealthShare. A health share is a community of like-minded, health-conscious individuals who share in each other’s eligible medical needs; a health share is not insurance. Administrative costs are kept low, and proprietary negotiations and self-pay pricing keeps the process far more affordable. Altrua HealthShare has been sharing in medical needs for almost thirty years and continues to be an industry innovator. While soaring traditional insurance costs have Americans making drastic decisions like marrying for insurance, there is a better way. Altrua HealthShare can help keep the romance in your romance, letting you marry for love, spiritual alignment, commitment, and your future, instead of medical billing.
Almost two million Americans are now part of a health share and it’s expected that those numbers will continue to grow as insurance costs continue to rise beyond the financial capacity of the average consumer. 4 For people who have been part of Altrua HealthShare, the advantages of choosing a health share over traditional insurance have been substantial. Nicole T. of Las Vegas, Nevada, a longtime Altrua HealthShare Member, shares, “Our family of eight has been with Altrua HealthShare since early 2000. We have delivered four children, had eighteen various broken bones, four extended hospitalizations, five various surgical procedures, and more doctor and specialist visits than one can count on all of our 160 fingers and toes! Yet through all these medical trials, Altrua HealthShare has been with us every step of the way. All of our eligible medical needs, which have been quite substantial, even for a family of eight, have been taken care of through the member share program, discounts, negotiations and other sources with which Altrua HealthShare works on behalf of each Member.” 5
Altrua HealthShare founder and CEO Randy Sluder adds, “At Altrua HealthShare, we’re always looking for ways to help make our Members’ experiences the most affordable and convenient. With First Health HealthShare Network, we are excited that our Members will have an even more streamlined, flexible, and easy-to-use membership experience. It’s innovations like this that continue to make Altrua HealthShare such a popular option over expensive, complicated traditional health insurance.”
🥰 With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, don’t give up on finding true love over figuring out affordable, flexible healthcare. You do have fantastic options like Altrua HealthShare, a much easier alternative than walking down the aisle. Save the romance and flowers and candy hearts for your true love and let Altrua HealthShare take care of your eligible medical needs. If you’re already a Member of Altrua HealthShare, be sure to review your Membership Guidelines to make sure you’re using all the great features of your membership level, which could include pooled office visits, telehealth visits and telecounseling, pharmacy discounts, vision and dental discounts, and more. If you’re not yet a Member of Altrua HealthShare or you have questions about your membership, a Member Service Representative will be happy to chat with you. You can call 1-888-244-3839 or visit our website at altruahealthshare.org.
1 https://www.npr.org/2026/01/12/nx-s1-5672426/aca-congress-insurance-subsidies-costs
2 https://www.affordablehealthinsurance.com/one-out-of-four-couples-married-during-covid-did-it-for-the-health-insurance/
3 https://belladepaulo.medium.com/how-affordable-health-insurance-improved-the-lives-of-single-people-d8bf8379f373
4 https://hsaforamerica.com/blog/unraveling-healthcare-sharing-ministries/
5 https://altruahealthshare.org/how-it-works/member-reviews/#:~:text=Our%20family%20of,Las%20Vegas%2C%20NV