A101 Revise DHP Pricing Structures for Equitable Access
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That the 81st General Convention reaffirms The Episcopal Church’s commitment to maintaining parity in health benefits offered to clergy and lay employees of The Episcopal Church and its dioceses, congregations, institutions and communities; and be it further
Resolved, That the 81st General Convention urge the Church Pension Group to adopt methods to provide equitable churchwide pricing of plans offered by the Episcopal Church Medical Trust, including by taking into account additional factors that may increase equity such as (a) the relative ability of each covered community to pay for needed benefits, and (b) the prevailing cost of comparable coverage within the area covered by each group; and be it further
Resolved, That the 81st General Convention urge the Church Pension Group to adopt a pricing structure that will ensure the ability of the Navajoland Area Mission and the Dioceses of Alaska, North Dakota, and South Dakota to provide plans through the Episcopal Church Medical Trust to their qualifying lay and clergy employees and their dependents, most especially to those who presently only receive coverage through the Indian Health Service (IHS) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Explanation
At present, lay employees make up a majority of those covered by the Denominational Health Plan. As such, the continued requirement of parity in benefit offerings between clergy and lay employees is paramount to the affordability and financial sustainability of the plan.
However, based on a prior resolution of the General Convention, CPG has been asked to strive to price health insurance offerings at a universal price without regard to location. This prior resolve, while well intended, did not consider a critical factor of health care in the United States – that the cost of health care varies dramatically across the country, just as cost of living varies from place to place. This has led to insurance rates that are often out-of-sync with a church community’s local insurance market.
This resolution reaffirms the necessity of lay/clergy parity in benefits, while asking CPG to consider two factors when it sets insurance rates for health plans – the ability of a covered community to pay, and the prevailing cost of comparable health care within the area covered by each group.
Finally, we seek to correct an injustice that has created a disparity in health care access between indigenous and white employees of the church – some indigenous lay and clergy employees do not receive Denominational Health Plan coverage, instead relying on coverage provided by the Indian Health Service (IHS) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that does not meet their present need. Our failure as a church to provide equal offerings must be rectified.
This resolution asks CPG to set a rating structure that would provide extra support to the Navajoland Area Mission, and to those US dioceses who receive block grants from the DFMS budget, to ensure that all employees of the church have access to quality health care.