DENOMINATIONAL HEALTH PLAN MEETINGSOCTOBER, 2011

October 9 St. Paul’s in the Desert 3 p.m.October 12 Trinity Escondido 5 p.m.October 19 Episcopal Church Center 5 p.m.

Resolution A177 Denominational Health PlanResolution A138 Lay Pension PlanPassed by 76th General Convention, July 2009

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General Convention Resolution A138Lay employee pension system (LPS) helps ensure that lay employees will enjoy a more secure retirement.

Lay Pension plan requirement was put into place at an earlier convention but A138 enforces compliance

Stay tuned!

General Convention Resolution A177Denominational health plan (DHP) helps institutions save on healthcare costs while providing parity in coverage for clergy and lay employees.

The Episcopal Church Medical Trust of the Church Pension Fund named administrator of these important benefits

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The Episcopal Church Medical Trust

Mission…

“Balancing compassionate Christian

benefits with financial stewardship”

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What is The Medical Trust

Self funded, tax favored, not-for-profit, church plan

Chartered by General Convention in 1978

Reports to the Church Pension Fund Trustees

Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Assn (VEBA)

ERISA-exempt, free of many state benefit mandates

Serving ONLY the Episcopal Church

Our plans are crafted to meet the needs of the Church and its institutions

Assets & Liabilities Belong to Our Members6

DHP Provider: Episcopal Church Medical Trust (ECMT)

ECMT provides:A cost-effective array of plan designs to meet

employee and employer needs22 Active Plans 5 world class national vendorsPre & Post 65 retiree medical health managementBenefit educationPatient advocacy and problem resolutionClient Engagement call center for membersAdministrative support for participating groups

Value added benefits to support Episcopal employees

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Medical Trust Commitment to Wellness

Network preventive care coverage

Preventive care at $0 copay

3 annual dental cleanings/oral examinations

Annual vision exam $0 copay

Health Fairs, Monthly “Health & Wellness News” mailings

Nutritional Counseling, Smoking Cessation

Outstanding Mental Health benefits

Partnering with vendors that offer:

World class informational web access

24 hour nurse lines in all plans

Condition and case management8

Can We Improve Our Overall Health?

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Resolution A177: What It Says About the DHP

Title I, Canon 8 of the Constitutions and Canons was amended to establish the Denominational Health Plan in accordance with the principles adopted in Resolution A177.

All domestic dioceses, parishes, missions, and other ecclesiastical organizations or bodies subject to the authority of the Church are required to participate, with implementation complete by January 1, 2013.

Canon Law

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Resolution A177 - Why it’s Important to the Church

To secure future health benefits for eligible Episcopal Church employees

To stabilize the rising costs of health benefits through large scale purchasing and decreasing healthcare administrative costs

To improve wellness and health engagement

To provide parity for clergy & lay working and compensated for 1,500 hours or more annually

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Resolution A177: What It Says About the DHP

Employers will be required to offer, and pay for, a health plan to employees scheduled for at least 1,500 hours of compensated work per year.

Each diocese will set a minimum cost-sharing policy that must apply equally to eligible clergy and lay employees.

Each diocese determines if schools and other institutions must participate, or if they will participate on a voluntary basis.

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Resolution A177: What It Says About the DHP

Employers may not opt out of the DHP. Employees may opt out of the DHP if they have

a health plan through other approved sources (e.g. spousal coverage, Tricare).

Employees who are scheduled for at least 1,000 hours of compensated work per year but less than 1,500 hours per year may voluntarily participate.

Each diocese required to set parity and determine whether “other institutions” must participate

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What Was the Spirit in Which the Resolutions Were Passed? Speaks to social justice issues around adequate benefits for the

Church’s lay employees

Currently, some lay employees do not have access to healthcare benefits and others have a higher cost-share than clergy

Many lay employees do not have a pension plan

General Convention actions will now ensure that lay employees have the safety net of active healthcare benefits and a pension at retirement

Adding additional churches and lay employees will broaden the base and reduce the cost for all

Cost concerns are real, but so is the need for lay employees to have adequate healthcare benefits

Lay employees’ support and dedication make many ministries possible…providing adequate benefits is the right thing to do14

Resolution A177: What Is Parity (Uniformity)?

Parity is described as:

• Equality between clergy and lay employees in:– Access– Benefits/Plan Offerings– Cost Sharing

A congregation can offer to pay more than the diocesan minimum, but must do so for both clergy and lay employees.

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Diocese of San Diego

Bishop appointed DHP Task Force to review resolution and develop a recommendation

• Steve Cordova

• Steve Crawford

• Polly Getz

• Robert Nagy

• Christine Spalding

• Allen Sweet

• Hannah Wilder

• Julie Young

Kick off meeting held April 2011

Diocese of San Diego

Task Force met monthly over the spring and summer to develop the following recommendation for the MINIMUM parity level a congregation and the Office of the Bishop can offer :

• All ordained and lay employees working 2000 hours or more annually will be offered 100% of the employee only cost of the basic EPO (Currently Aetna) plan.

• Employees working between 1500 and 2000 hours per year will be offered the same benefit prorated by the number of hours with a maximum employee contribution of 10%.

• Employees working between 1000 and 1500 hours will be offered insurance but will be required to pay the full premium

• Existing letters of agreement will be honored. Letters of agreement effective after February 28, 2012 will be compliant with the parity requirements outlined above

• Congregations are encouraged to exceed these minimums

Diocese of San Diego

Schools, day care facilities, thrift shops and other congregational and diocesan institutions are encouraged to adopt the principles articulated in this recommendation. However, they are not required to comply

Parity requirements will be effective January 1, 2013

Employees may opt out if they have other coverage but congregations will fund their 403(b) or other Section 125 benefit for the amount of single coverage of the base plan

Diocese of San Diego

In offering this recommendation, we offer the following excerpt from “Workplace Values in the Episcopal Church” (Resolution A125, General Convention 2006.):

 

Believing in the call to the Church to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being, The Episcopal Church seeks to promote professional employment environments that offer opportunity for development and advancement. The Church’s commitment to this is summed up in the widely accepted “Golden Rule”:

 

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you . . .”

(Matthew 7:12a)