For The Record

Submit birth, marriage and obituary records online.

Personal Ads

Meet new friends today!

Advertising

Put your message in front of 19,000 readers.

PDF documents on this site require the free Adobe Reader:

Get Adobe Reader

2009-04-07 issue:

Details of The Corinthian Plan released

Mennonite Church USA employee benefit package has three deductible options.

by Keith Harder of Mennonite Church USA

Print Article

The Corinthian Plan is the name of the employee benefit package that Mennonite Church USA has designed. Included are health, wellness features, life and disability coverage. Churches may also select dental and vision coverage.

Health coverage
The health coverage (provided by the Congregational Employee Plan) will have these deductible options: when only one person is covered: $1,150, $2,000 or $3,000; when a family is covered: $2,300, $4,000 or $6,000; and churches that apply for a subsidy will receive the $3,000/$6,000 deductible.

What the health plan covers
The health plan covers major medical expenses— hospital, outpatient, maternity, prescription drugs, diagnostic X-rays and lab tests, home-health services, mental health and substance abuse. The plan also covers physician office visits and rehabilitation services. After the deductible is met, all these expenses are covered at 100 percent (there are no copays). The lifetime maximum benefit for each person is $5 million.

To help control the cost of health care, benefits are provided through the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Preferred Provider Organization program. To encourage participants to receive preventive care, the plan pays 100 percent of immunizations, physical exams, mammograms, gynecological exams and many preventive screenings as first dollar benefits that are not part of the deductible.

Wellness features
There are also incentives for adults to receive a wellness assessment (which gives specific individualized recommendations to improve health and reduce the risk of developing other health conditions) and to set and achieve wellness goals.

Life and disability insurance
Because these benefits are based on salary, the pastor (credentialed staff) or church employee (noncredentialed staff) must be paid for 10 or 30 hours per week, respectively. The life insurance benefit is equal to their annual salary—up to $65,000 maximum—and includes an equal amount of coverage for accidental death and dismemberment. Long-term disability coverage is equal to two-thirds of the employee’s salary.

Health spending accounts
A variety of options are available to complement the health plan, including health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements and flexible spending accounts (as part of a Section 125 plan).

These options provide employees and congregations with ways to set aside tax-preferred dollars for health, dental or vision care. The options differ in terms of who can make contributions to them, whether the funds can be designated for only certain expenses and who owns the account.

To allow for a range of needs among congregations, all three are being offered.

Reader Comments

Add Comments