The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Churchwide Leadership presented its Report #11 on Resolution D034 (Revise Denominational Health Plan Mandate) and moved adoption of a substitute.

Original Text of Resolution:

(D034)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,

That this church revise the principles underlying participation and provision of benefits under the Denominational Health Plan as previously adopted in 2009-A177 as follows:

For all domestic dioceses, parishes, missions and other ecclesiastical organizations or bodies subject to the authority of this church, for clergy and lay employees who are scheduled to work a minimum of 1,500 hours annually, in accordance with the following principles:

1. The Denominational Health Plan shall be designed and administered by the Trustees and officers of the Church Pension Fund, following best industry practices for comparable plans
2. The Denominational Health Plan shall provide that each diocese has the right to make decisions as to plan design options offered by the plan administrator, minimum cost-sharing guidelines for parity between clergy and lay employees, domestic partner benefits in accordance with General Convention Resolution 1997-C024 and the participation of schools, day care facilities and other diocesan institutions (that is, other than the diocese itself and its parishes and missions) in the Denominational Health Plan;
3. The Denominational Health Plan shall provide equal access to health care benefits for eligible clergy and eligible lay employees;
4. The Denominational Health Plan shall provide benefits through the Episcopal Church Medical Trust, which shall be the sole plan sponsor for such benefits and continue to be operated on a financially sound basis;
5. No domestic diocese, parish, mission, or other ecclesiastical organization or body subject to the authority of this church shall be required to participate in the Denominational Health Plan if, in the judgment of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority exercising oversight:
   
   a. The premiums of the Denominational Health Plan exceed by 25% the cost of obtaining comparable coverage on either private or public insurance markets for any entity subject to the Denominational Health Plan, or if
   
   b. A sole plan provider is offered through the Medical Trust to any entity subject to the Denominational Health Plan, or if
   
   c.  The choice of providers covered within Medical Trust plans in a given location is insufficient to meet the needs of plan participants without excess travel.
   
   
6. In the event a Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority exercising oversight grants permission for a diocese, parish, mission, or other ecclesiastical organization to obtain coverage outside of the Denominational Health Plan, they shall provide to the Medical Trust:
   
   a. A Summary of Benefits Provided under External Coverage, and
   
   b.A Summary of Premiums Assessed under External Coverage, and
   
   c. An assessment of why, in the opinion of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority, such External Coverage is in the best interest of the diocese, parish, mission or other ecclesiastical organization.
    
7. The Denominational Health Plan shall have a church-wide advisory committee, as previously established in Resolution 2009-A177. The advisory committee shall consist of twelve members representative of the whole church. Four of the members shall be appointed by the Trustees of the Church Pension Fund, four of the members shall be appointed by the Presiding Bishop, and four of the members shall be appointed by the President of the House of Deputies. The church-wide advisory committee shall receive from the Episcopal Church Medical Trust an annual report about the status of the Denominational Health Plan, and a complete copy of all data sets held by the Medical Trust used to create said report; such data shall be appropriately anonymized to withhold personally identifying information and be suitable for review by a third-party actuary should such analysis be desired. The Annual Report and the anonymized data sets supporting the same shall be published in full each year to the whole church.
   
   
8. For purposes of this resolution, the term “domestic” shall mean ecclesiastical organizations and bodies located in the United States, including the Dioceses of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands; 
   
   
9. The Church Pension Fund shall continue to work with the Dioceses of Colombia, Convocation of American Churches in Europe, Dominican Republic, Ecuador Central, Ecuador Litoral, Haiti, Honduras, Micronesia, Cuba, Taiwan and Venezuela to make recommendations with respect to the provision and funding of healthcare benefits of such dioceses under the Denominational Health Plan.

Committee Substitute:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,

There shall be a Task Force to Advise the Church on the Denominational Health Plan. The Task Force shall receive from the Episcopal Church Medical Trust annual reports for 2021, 2022, and 2023 about the status of the Denominational Health Plan, and a complete copy of all data sets held by the Medical Trust used to create said report; such data shall be appropriately anonymized to withhold personally identifying information and be suitable for review by a third-party actuary. The Task Force shall review the structure and offerings of the Denominational Health Plan, in consultation with the Church Pension Group staff, with special attention to the cost of premiums, and report back to the 81st General Convention a list of options to reduce health insurance costs across the church, including an examination of the impact of individual faith communities opting out of the Denominational Health Plan, with a full explanation of the reasoning for and costs and benefits of each option. The 81st General Convention shall consider the options in deciding whether to modify the mandate given to the Denominational Health Plan in Resolution 2009-A177. The members of the Task Force shall be appointed by the Presiding Officers, and shall consist of: one member of the Church Pension Group Board of Trustees; one member of the Church Pension Group Client Council; one Church Pension Group staff member who is expert in the health care issues addressed by the Denominational Health Plan; two members of Executive Council; two Bishops who serve as at-large members of the Task Force; four Clergy or Lay People who serve as at-large members of the Task Force; and two members who are experts in health care and insurance finance issues; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $40,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

Motion carried

Substitute resolution adopted

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #27)